1
20
3
-
https://history.okeq.org/files/original/0cb5646828eaf4b4621c08f15ada7d88.pdf
2b02a6890db6ba091d4fd3c403552e7c
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A Service of Wholeness Program
Subject
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Church services
Description
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Program for A Service of Wholeness, a church service sponsored by College Hill Presbyterian Church and Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns.
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College Hill Presbyterian Church
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May 19, 1996
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Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns
Jane Adams Spahr
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Churches and Faith Communities
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PDF
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English
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https://history.okeq.org/files/show/2097
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College Hill Presbyterian Church
Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Conerns
Jane Adams Spahr
A Service of Wholeness
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[Collection] Other Organizations and Events
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Documents and items relating to other LGBT organizations and events.
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[1996] Churches and Faith Communities
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Clubs and Social Groups
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College Hill Presbyterian Church
Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns
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Other Organizations and Events
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English
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Churches and Faith Communities
College Hill Presbyterian Church
Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns
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https://history.okeq.org/items/show/645
A Service of Wholeness
College Hill Presbyterian Church
Jane Adams Spahr
Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Conerns
-
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94d8f329c885af31c0dfff66fa95dc42
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be16ca1224a3677c465dddb080fd7d50
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[Sub-Series] Newsletters & Publications > Tom Neal Newsletters > Tulsa Family News
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Arkansas; Ant|- ay. Law
Ru|cO ! nconst|t t|on
LI~LE.ROC~ ~AP)- ~ A ~dg~~out
out Gays, for ~os~u~o~ ~oug~ no-onv.~.
pros~ut~.~d~~ 19.~:law, seven~ple-who s~d
¯ey w~e Gay told~~~eyf~~ing
~nvict~~dlosing~rjo~ orprof~sio~ H~scs.
~Co~ty Circ~t Judge David ~g~d s~d
~sla~e~wh~it~~~,non~mm~
sex~ acdvid~ ~ong ~ple of ~
gend~. ~e state~~ aJ~hc~g ~t
gov~t~~ int~t in~i~g~vior
~tmost of i~~wo~d findmolly~o~-
ate; but Bog~d&s~.
’~~plc of~k~~ve ~eright to le~slateon
issu~ involv~g mo~s. but homosex~ is not o~y
a question of mor~s," Bog~d s~d. Citing a 1~2
fromWis~. Bog~d s~d a way offife ’~t is ~d
or ev~ ~afic" see So.my, p~ 2
Iowa Study: Tolerance of
Gays May Be Growing
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -Thereason thatmoreAmericans
are reporting homosexual encounters thana decade
ago may bethe increasing tolerance of Gays and
Lesbians, a University of Iowa study says. "Declining
social, legal and economic sanctions against samegender
sexual behavior in recent years and more positive
images of Gay men and Lesbians in the media may
have made it easier for people to recognize their samegender
sexual interest and act on it," said Amy Buffer,
the study’s author.
Butler, an associate professor in the University of
Iowa’ s School of Social Work, used data collected for
the General Social Surveys conducted by the National
Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
Her study, published in November in the Journal of
Sex Research, shows that between 1988 and 1998 the
number ofwomenwhosaid theyhad a sexual encounterwith
another woman in the previous year went from
0.2% of respondents to 2.8%, a 14-fold increase. For
men, the number who said they had a homosexual
experience jumped from 1.7% of respondents to 4.1%.
Whethermorepositivemediaportrayals play arole in
the increasing reports of homosexual activity is hard to
determine, Butler said. For certain, the media wouldn’ t
mt shows on television or produce movies that portray
~ositive Gay lives see Tolerance, p. 2
DIRECTORY P. 2
EDITORIAL. P. :3
US & woRLD, NEWS P. 4~
HEALTH NEWS P~e~ ~
ENTERTAINgE~, MORE: P~ ~
GAY STUDIE~ING L~BfAN: P~ tO/11
" Serving Lesbian, Gay; Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsens, Our Families + Friends
"Embrace Diversity"_
2001 Parade + Fesbval
". TULSA (TFN) - Oklahoma’s biggest celebration of its kind,
." Tulsa" s "Diversity Celebration", is shaping up to be the biggest
¯ to date. A full week of events, designed to educate the general
¯" public oncivil rights issues and the need for equality for the Gay/
." Lesbian/Bisexual and Trmmgendered (GLBT) community are
: planned for the city of Tulsa and the Midwest region.
¯ "Fmbrace Diversity" is Tulsa’ s"21st celebration of the beginning
of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender civil rights
." movement. Begun as the Tulsa Pride Picnic in 1980, "Diversity
" Celebration"has grown over the pastfew years to become oneof
-" Tulsa’s largest events. The past two celebrations have garnered
~" national attentionfrom Los Angeles to New York with coverage
: by PlanetOut, Genre and Curve, as well as local GLBT and
: heterosexually oriented television, print and.ele.ctro~ic, media.
1999~saw Tulsa,welcome United States Rep. Barney Frank (D-
: Mass..)~as,the OrandMarshal of Tulsa" s first full fledgedparade.
¯ Last y~t:, the city welcomed Greta Cammermeyer and Greg
Loug~,s as they hhared their personal stories of triumph over
adversi~ and whoserved as Grand Marshals for the Parade.
¯ Featured this year are allies outside the GLBT community -
: the families of GLBT individuals. Traveling from across the
¯ nation,, these brave families come to Tulsa to educate and share
¯" their stories of loved ones as we honor them as Grand Marshals
: of Tulsa’s 3rd GLBT Parade (Pride Parade).
: TulsaOklahomans for Human Rights (TOHR), the presenting
¯ sponsor of "Diversity Celebration 2001", has released the fol-
: lowing schedule of events:
Saturday, June 2, 2001
TOHR Foifies 2001
Presented by TOHR
’Trom Here to Eternity"Avondale Studio & Theatre
¯ (the old Delaware Playhouse), 1511 So. Delaware Ave., 8pm
see Diversity, p. 3
¯ HIV and Young Black Gay Men
¯ by Margie Mason, Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - In the wake of soaring HIV statistics
" surrounding the nation’s Gay Black men, a panel of educators
- came together at the end of March to admit their failures and
: discuss strategies to help curb the rate of contraction.
¯ ’These people are coming to us to get HIV testing or to get
¯ screened for (sexually transmitted diseases)," said Lucia Torian,
¯ from the New York City Department of Health. ’They are in our
" offices. They’re in our clinics. We are even counseling them.
¯ What’s going on7"
¯ Torian spoke to a packed conference room as part of. the 13th
." NationalHIV/AIDS UlxlateConference.ShesaidarecentYoung
Men’ s Survey inNew York showed one in every three Blackmen
¯ sampled were HIV positive, even though they had less sexual
" partners th~n white men ages 23 to 29.
¯ Torian said Gay Blackmen as a group held the highest rates of
¯ infection from 1989-1999. ’This is an incidence rate in men who
" have sex with men that wehave not seen since the late 1980s.-So
: we have our work cut out for us," Torian said. "’And we may be
¯ on the leading edge of the epidemic."
San Francisco’s Gay Black HIV prevalence rates are compa-
: rable with an estimated 54.6% of the population spanning all age
: groups, said Willi McFarland from the San Francisco Depart-
¯ ment of Public Health.
"It’ s an astonishing figure, and we’re not entirely sure how to
¯ answer it," he said. ’’It’s one of the highest for any group in the
¯ city." Black transgender men in San Francisco have a 60% to
: 65% prevalence rate, McFarland said.
¯¯ SusanKegeles, of theUniversity ofSan Francisco’ s Center for
AIDS Prevention Studies, spoke on the panel about ideas for a
¯ program to attract the troubled demographic. She heads the
¯ Mpowerment Project, hailed by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention as the only effective intervention program for
¯ youngGay and bisexual men, which uses peer groups in various
¯ cities to,create a dialogue and. a safe place for men to talk about
¯ SeX.
see African, p. lO
City Human Rights Group
Wants to Talk to Gays
TULSA (TFN) - About seven years after record
numbers of citizens attended public hearings on
amending Tulsa’ s human rights ordinance to include
"sexual orientation," at leastone staffperson with the
City of Tulsa Human Rights Commission/Department
says she wants to know the issues and concerns
of Tulsa’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered
(GLBT) community.
University ofTulsaintemAngieJohann_esen, asked
to do an internship for her sociology degree with the
City’ s HumanRights Commlssion. Atherinstigation
the’ Commission is currently developing a series of
focus groups with individuals in the GLBT community.
Thefocus groups will takeplace later this spring.
However, before any specific dates are set, the Human
Rights Commission wants~to gauge the number
of persons who would be willing to participate.
Johaunesen contac~ted TulsaOldahomam for Human
Rights, (TOHR) and TUlsa Family News to let
GLBTpeopleknow about the effort and to encourage
them to participate in the focus groups. Johannesen
promises that individuals’ privacy will be respected..
Johaunesen noted that one goal of the Commission
was to create a resource manual of LGBT groups,
similar to lists which TOHR and TFN already have
developed. Another goal is to provide support to Gay
students in Tulsa Public Schools some ofwhomhave
contacted the Commission about harassment in
schools.
Those willing to participate should contact Angie
Johannesen at the Human Rights Commission, 596-
7837, orby e-mail at angela-johannesen@umlsa.edu.
TOHR also encourages those with any questions to
contact them at 743-4297 or by e:mail at
tobrl0@hotmail.com, see editorial, p. 3.
Gay Man Severely Beaten
In Attempted Murder
MiDDLEBURG, Pa, (AP) - Two brothers were ordered
to stand trial in Snyder County Court, accused
of stomping and punching a man who is now in a
coma; one ofthem allegedly told police that the attack
was provoked by a homosexual advance.
Todd J. Clinger, 18, and Troy L. Clinger, 20, both
of Middleburg are charged with attempted murder in
the March 6 attack on Michael Auker. Hc was then
carried to his trailer, where he was found two days
later in a comatose state.
"Wefoundhimunconscious and bleedingfrom the
head. Every bone in his face was broken," state
trooper Frederick Dyroff testified in a preliminary
hearing.
Dyroff testified that Todd Clinger said the assault
on Auker was the result ofa sexual advance byAuker.
Both ofthe brothers and Auker were drinking atTodd
Clinger’ s trailer prior to the incident, police said.
Auker remains in what Snyder County District
Attorney Mike Sholley called a "permanenvcomatose"
at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.
Nicki Lee White, Troy Clinger’s fiance, said the
brothers planned to lure Auker out to their deck so
they could "beat him up, kill him."
"He (Auker) was trying to cover his face," White
said. "I’hat’s when Todd started stomping on him,
stomping on his face?’
Bothofthe brothers’ parents face charges related tc
their role following the incident. Their father, Gary
Clinger~ 37, accused of helping the brothers move
Auker to his-trailer, was charged with criminal trespass,
burglary., and. endangering another person.
Theirmother~ConnieLynnCringers40, wascharged
with criminal solicitation.
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Bamboo Lounge, 7204 E. Pine
*CW’ s, 1737 S. Memorial
*Play-Mot, 424 S. Memorial
Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square
*Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st
*Schatzi’ s, 2619 S. Memorial
*The Star, 1565 Sheridan
*TNT’s, 2114 S. Memorial
*Tool Box II, 1338 E. 3rd
*Vortex, 2182 S. Sheridan
*The Yellow Brick Road Pub, 2630 E. 15th
832-1269
610-5323
838-9792
744-4280
585-3405
745-9998
280-1316
834-4234
660-0856
584-1308
835-2376
749-1563
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Assoc. in Med: & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard 743-1000
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71 250-5034
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5231 E. 41 665-4580
Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 IE. 15 712-1122
*Borders Books &Music, 2740 E. 21 . 712-9955
*Borders Books & Music, 80i5 S. Yale 494-2665
Brookside Jewelry,.4649 S. Peoria 743-5272
*CD Warehouse, 3807c S. Peoria 746-0313
*Cheap Thrills, 2640 E. 1 lth 295-5868
Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis 581-0902, 743-4117
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker 622-0700
Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th 749-3620
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria 744-5556
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sheridan 838-8503
Encompass Travel, 13161H N. Memorial 369-8555
Ross Edward Salon 584-0337, 712-9379
Events Unlimited, 507 S. Main 592-0460
Floral Design Studio, 3404 S. Peoria 744-9595
Four Star Import Automotive, 990,6 E. 55th P1. 610-0880
Cathy Furlong, Ph.D., 1980 Utica S~i. Med. Ctr. 628-3709
Gay & Lesbian Affordable Daycare 808-8026
*Gloria Jean’s Gourmet Coffee, 1758 E. 21st 742-1460
Leanne M. Gross, Insurance & financial planning 459-9349
Mark T. Hamby, Attorney 744-7440
*Sandra J: Hill, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E Skelly 745-1111
*International Tours 341-6866
Jacox Animal Clinic, 2732 E. 15th 712-2750
*Jared’s Antiques, 1602 E. 15th 582-3018
David Kauskey, Country Club Barbering 747-0236
The Keepers, Housekeeping & Gardening 582-8460
*Kerfs Flowers, 1635 E. 15 599-8070
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #210 747-5466
*Living ArtSpace, 308 South Kenosha 585-1234
*Midtown Theater, 319 E. 3rd 584-3112
Mingo Valley Flowers, 9720c E. 31 663-5934
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place 664-2951
Puppy Pause II, 1060 S. Mingo 838-7626
*The Pride Store 743-4297
Rainbowz on the River B+B, POB 696, 74101 747-5932
Richard’ s Carpet Cleaning 834-0617
Teri Schutt, Ellen & Co. 834-7921, 748-0224
Paul Tay, Car Salesman 260-7829
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S~ Lewis 481-0558
Venus Salon, 1247 S. Harvard 835-5563
Fred Welch, LCSW, Counsding 743-1733
*Wherehouse Music, 5150 S. Sheridan 665-2222
*Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis 592-0767
www.gaytulsa.org - website for Tulsa Gays & Lesbians
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & Universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, POB 4337, 74101 579-9593
All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria 743-2363
"Black&White, Inc. POB 14001, Tulsa 74159 587-7314
Bless The Lord at All Times Christian Center, 2207 E. 6 583-7815
918.583.1248, fax: 583.4615
POB 4140. Tulsa, OK 74159, e-mail: TulsaNews@earthlinEnet
Publisher + Editor: Tom Neal
Writers + contributors: James Christjohn, Karin Gregory, Barry
Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche, Lament Lindstrom, Esther
Rothblum, Mary Schepers, Hughston Walkinshaw
Member of The Associated Press
Issued around the 1st of each month, the entire contents of this
publication are protected by US copyright 2001 by Tulsa
Family News and may not be reproduced eitherin whole or in
part without written permission from the publisher. Publication
of a name or photo does not indicate a person’ s sexual
orientation. Correspondence is assumed to be for publication
unless otherwise noted, must be signed& becomes the sole
property of Tulsa Family News. Each reader is entitled to ~4,
copies of each edition at distribution point.
Additional copies are available by calling 583-1248,
BILiG/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa United Min. Ctr. 583-9780
Ch~lpFri~q~,,Conunerce,.Bldg,.;,~616~.S.:B_Oston. :...585-.120! ~ :. ~Ol~,:J~h,°~u~e~gn’_lP~anM~ntg°mery - 5500~-6225]~65~
*Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31 :’~ 742-2457’ " "-
Dignity/Integrity of Tulsa- Lesbian & GayCatholics & ,
Episcopalians, POB 701475, 74170-1475 355-3140 "_
*Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777 ¯
*Free Spirit Women’ s Center, call for location &info: 587-4669
Friend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152 747-6827
Friends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438
*Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., 3507 E. Admiral 834-4194
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education 834~8378
*HouseoftheHoly SpiritMinstries,1517S. Memorial 224-4754
*MCC United, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715
NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral PI. 748-3111
NOW, Nat’l Org. for Women, POB 14068, 74159 365-5658
OK Spokes Club (bicycling), POB 9165, 74157
*OSU-Tulsa
PFLAG, POB 52800, 74152 749-4901
*Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria 587-7674
Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152
R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195
*Red Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325
St. Aidan’ s Episcopal Church, 4045 N. Cincinnati 425-7882
St. Dlmstan’s Episcopal, 5635 E. 71st 492-7140
*St. Jerome’ s Parish Church, 205 W. King 582-3088
Soulforce-OK, Rt.4, # 3534, Stigler74462 587-3248,452-2761
*Tulsa Area United Way, 1430 S. Boulder 583-7171
*TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225
Tulsa County Health Department, 4616 E. 15 595-4105
Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays only
Tulsa Okla. for Human Rights, Gay Comm. Center 743-4297
TUL-PAC, PositiveAdvocacy Coalition,POB2687,Tulsa 74101
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform]Leather Seekers Assoc. 298-0827
*Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule
*Tulsa Community College Campuses
*Tulsa Gay Community Center, 21 st &Memorial 743-4297
Unity Church of Christianity, 3355 S. Jamestown 749-8833
BARTLESVILLE
Bartlesville Public library, 600 S. Johnstone 918-337-5353
TAHLEQUAH
Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
Tahlequah Unitarian-Universalist Church 918-456-7900
Green Country AIDS Coalition, POB 1570 918-453-9360
EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
Autunm Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23 501-253-7734
Jim & Brent’s Bistro, 173 S. Main 501-253-7457
DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St. 50 1-253-6807
Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St. 501-253-5445
MCC of the Living Spring 50 1-253-9337
Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, POB 429 501-253-2776
could not be condemned just because it is
¯ different.
"Perhaps it is repugnant to heterosexuals
¯ to contemplate persons of the same sex
¯ engaging privately in oral or anal sex; how-
, ever, to enact a law in Arkansas which
¯ criminalizes such conductbetween consent-
¯ ing adults violates the Arkansas constitution,"
the judge wrote.
¯ Ruth Harlow,legal director oftheLambda
¯ Legal Defense and Education Fund in New
¯ York, whichrepresented the group, said that
¯" even though no one was prosecuted, its
¯ members did notlikebeing branded as crimi-
: nals. "The law hangs over their heads and
¯ treats them like second-class citizens," she ¯
said. ’~It says it’ s illegal:when yogi do it but
¯_" not whenyourneighbordoes, as king as they
¯ are heterosexual?~- .:,~r:. ~,:
~2 Darrin-W,illiams;cNef"of staff£or Arkansas
Attorney General" Mark Pryor; said the
office would decide on an appeal later. The
Arkansas law carried a $1,000 fine andup to
a year in jail.
Bogard said his opinion was not an endorsement
ofhomosexuality nor a critidism.
’‘This court’ s opinion today should not in
any way be deemed to condone or condemn
any particular lifestyle or the moral behavior
associated therewith," he said. Kansas,
Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah have
similar laws.
if the public wasn’ t willing to accept it, she
said.
Her study says the way Gays and Lesbians
appear in the media may make some
people more comfortable acting on homosexual
impulses.
Buffer said that thepercentage of people
who reported having had these experiences
is small. ’Tmnot documenting a full-blown
revolution," she said.
In 1988, 74.9% of respondents said that
sex between two people of the same sex is
always wrong. By 1998 that number had
dropped to 54.6%, according to the General
Social Surveys.
Buffer. said the findings will have critics
and supporters. The religious right, for example,
might use the study to show how
America has become too tolerant of homosexuality,
she said. Gay and Lesbian actiV-
: ists might beupsetby her suggestion that the
¯ data indicate sexuality is, at least in some
: cases; cultttrally constructedrather thanbio-
¯ logically determined. ¯
Butler speculated that there may b~ sev-
~ eral reasons tolerance has increased, such as
: declassifying homosexuality as a psychiat-
¯ ric diseasein the 1970s and the growth ofthe
Gay Pride movement. The latter, she said,
¯ may have forced people to question their
¯ long-held beliefs. "But there is still a lot of
¯ intolerance," she said.
Federal Hate Crimes Bill Reintroduced
Bipartisan Bill Will Expand Federal Law to Include Gender, Sexual
Orientation, and Disability; Expands Enforcement Powers
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senators Gordon "
Smith (R-OR) and Edward Kennedy (DMA)
with Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA),
Congresswoman Connie Morella (R-MD) "
and Democratic colleagues re-introduced ¯
federal hate crimes legislationin Congress
today, advancing an important policy dis- ¯
cussion onbias-related violence across the ¯
The Local Law Enforcement Enhance- ."
merit Act of 2001 is a bipartisan bill which "
wo.uld extend existing federal hate crimes ¯
laws to include gender, disability, and
sexual, orientation. Thebill has 51 cospon- "
sors m the Senate and 180 in the House. "
"A government’s first duty is topmtect ¯
and defend its citizens. Ourlaws~shoulddo ¯
that by reflegting oat.highest values, .not "
by sheltering ourlowestfears~’7 said Smith.
’XDver the past several years~ .Americans
have been listening with their hearts, not
just their ears, and they are ready for a hate "
crimes bill. I am confident that Congress ¯
will Pass legislation this year so that the ¯
potential victims of hate crimes know that
the federal government is on their side."
Senator Smith first sponsored.the bill ¯
with Senator Kennedy in 1999 and intro- :
ducedit as an amendment to legislationin "-
as voting. In addition to the newcategories,
the Local Law EnforcementEnhancement
Act will broaden federal jurisdiction
to include hate crimes that cause death or
bodily injury.
The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement
Act would give federal prosecutors
the discretion, under the direction of the
Attorney General, to ’prosecute violent
crimes against individuals based on their
actual or perceived race, color, religion,
and national origin.
The bill also gives power to the Attorney
General to determine, on a case by
case basis, wla~ther interstate.commerce
was affected or involvedln violent crimes
against individuals Od. the basis oftheir
real or perceived gender, disability or
sexual orientation, and federalize such
prosecutions as well. The bill also gives
the Department of Justice the ability to
provide needed federal technical and financial
assistance to state and local authorities
upon request for local investigation
or prosecution of bias-related crimes.
Rich Tafel, executive director of Log
Cabin Republicans, a Gay political group,
noted, ’Xve applaud Senator Smith, Senator
Specter, Congresswoman Morella and
both 1999 and 2000. Currently;.federal
law only "permits prosecution, of a hate
crimeifthe crime prevents the victimfrom i C°ngresS and for our country."
exercising afederallyprotectedright, suCh.,~., .. - ’~
Reception immediately following.
Tickets: $15.00, At the Door: $20.00
" The Pride Store @ Tulsa GLBT
Community Center; 2114 S Memorial
orby calling 918.743.4297 or toll
free (outside Tulsa)-at 866.335.9074
Sunday, Jund 3, 2001
Tulsa Interfaith Service
Sponsored by TU BLGT Alliance
Sharp Chapel, TU, 3pro
Monday, June 4, 2001
Council Oak Men’s Chorale Concert
Presented by Tulsa City/County.Library
"Diversity in Song"
Aaronson Auditorium, Central Library
3rd and Denver, 7pro
Monday, June 4, 2001
Family Law Panel
Presented by Tulsa City/County Library
Professor Linda Lacey; TU Law School
and a panel of family law experts.
Helmerich Library; 91St and Yale, 7pro
Tuesday, June 5, 2001
Art :Exhibit: "Embracing Art"
¯All- Souls Unitarian Church
2952 S: Peoria Avenue, 6-9pro"
Thursday, June 7, 2001
. GLBT Film.Festivai
Sponsored by Tulsa City/County Library
’‘Diversity in Film"
Aaronson Auditorium, Central Library-
3rd and Denver, 7pro
: .the Republican sponsors of thislegislation
¯ for leading a crucial policy.discussion in
¯ Friday, June 8, 2001
¯ TOHR Diversity Gala
; .....Benefiting TOHR and
Diversily Celebration 2001
¯ "Death Be Notpr0ud"
". Speakers and Parade Grand Marshalls:
: Ms. Gabi Clayton, Olympia, WA
¯ Ms. Dorothy Hajdys
Ms. Nancy Rodrigues; Houston, TX
Ms. Carolyn Wagner, Little Rock, AR
"Community HerO" Awards presentation
honoring those in the local GLBT
community who educate the public
through their everyday actions and lives.
Tulsa Country Club, 701 N. Yukon Dr.
7pro, reception & silent auction
8pro dinner,.$100/ea. $1,000table of
eight. Sponsorships available.
Reserved seating available by calling
918.743.4297 or 866.335.9074
Saturday, June 9, 2001
The Pride Parade
Cherry Street (15th Street) to
BoSton Avenue to 18th Street to
Veterans Park
Start at 3pm, Hoat/marchers begin
assembling at lpm.
" During the first year of this publication,
: in May of 1994, this newspaper covered
¯ three raucous , packed publichearings about
¯ a proposal to add sexual orientation to the
¯
City of Tulsa’s largely meaningless hu-
¯ man rights ordinance.
I say meaningless because violating the
: ordinance zs only a misdemeanor. Any
: r_eal backing for civil rights for citizens
¯ comes from federal laws which.don’t in-
" elude "sexual orientation," and therefore
¯ don’t cover Gay people. (For the record,
¯¯ they don’t cover straight people either but
we’ve hardly seen that that’s a problem.)
: The hearing brought out the best in
.. some but the worst in many. Some who
had not really seen the need for including
¯ sexual orientation saw the need just by
¯ listening to the bigotry expressed at the
: meetings.
¯ Now this many years later, the City’s
: Human Rights Commission/Dept. is look-
" ing at these issues again, thanks it seems,
¯ solely to one TU student’ s efforts and just
¯ because she cares about justice -since
¯ she’s, as they put it, "straight but not
¯ narrow." What they’re doing is holding
_. "focus groups" which is all well and good
¯ but it~ s much like writing another report as
¯ the last group who looked at these issues
¯ did back in ’93/94. It will take up time and
¯ energy but accomplish little especially ¯
since what’ s needed really hasn’ t changed.
." since’94,norhas it changedfrom theearly
¯ ’80’ s when a similar effort was attempted
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered
people need to have the same fund
mental civil rights protections which other
minorities have by law and which the
majority has by dominance. This includes
equal opportunity in housing and employment
and benefits.
This means that if landlords or home
sellers cannot refuse someone because of
their race or religion, they should not be
allowed to do so because of sexual orientation.
Ditto for job hiring, advancement
and equal pay/benefits for equal work.
Ditto, ditto for eqnal legal protection for
spouses and families, regardless of whether
these are menand women, men and men or
women and women;
But for it to go anywhere, it will require
themayor and some city councilors to give
a damn. For at least 7 years, MayOr Savage
could, and has been asked to, di:rect the
Tulsa Police to includemo~e than just race
and religion in their "diversity" training.
While rumor has it that this trivial change
may soon happen, why has she waited so
long? And while some city councilors
know what’ s right, none have the courage
to work for civil rights. They all want to
wait till it’ s safe for them to vote ’~yes," fill
there’s a majority. But every earlier civil
rights struggle lost batdesbefore prevailing.
We can’t get anywhere when our
"leaders" won’t talk about our issues.
Focus groups, are nice. But we already
know whatis needed. Wejustneed Savage
under the city commission form of gov- :. mid Watts and Williams and Turner to do
eminent. -" it~. - Tom Neal,. editor & publisher
Rights Bills.Go Forward in 3 .States
WASHINGTON - The Human Rights "- now heads to the Senate, and Gov. Ruth
Campaign (HRC) late in March praised. ¯ .Ann Minner has pledged she will sign the
activists in Maryland, Delaware, and Illi- " bill if she gets the opportunity.
nois for advancing bills in their respective
legislatures that would prohibit discrimi~
nation based on sexual orientation.
’q’his Was aweekthat saw greatprogress
due to the outstanding efforts of activists
in Illinois; Maryland and Delaware," said
HRC Field Director Seth Kilbourn.
know it will be a tough road, but we hope
thattheselegislatures will continue to stand
up for equality and vote these bills into
law."
The Illinois House of Representatives
approved ameasure that would add sexual
orientation to a state law that bans diserimination
against people forjobs, housing,
public accommodations or credit. It
now heads to the more conservative Senate.
But supporters of the bill got a boost
when Senate PresidentJames "Pate"Philip
said he plans to givethe issue a committee
" No.entries after-2:45pra hearing instead of delaying it. ’I want .to
Featuring: express my gratitude to my colleagues in
Entries from-across Oklahoma and
the Midwest Region
ComroR~ity Heroes
Oklahoma’s largest Pride Flag
Diversity Festival
Sponsored by: .Bud Light & Eastern
Oklahoma Beverages
Veterans’ Park
1875 So. Boulder Ave., 3pro
the Honse for their support," said Illinois’
only opehly Gay staterepresentative, Larry
McKeon, (D) who sponsored the bill. "I
strongly encourage the Senate leadership
to allow the bill to be moved tothe Senate
floor for a vote by its leaders."
The Delaware House of Representafives
also passed a similar bill that would
ban discrimination based on real or perceived
sexual orientation in employment,
housing, public works contracting, public
accommodations and insurance.. The bill
¯ ’~-Iopefully today brings us closer to a
¯ time when our differences are not seen as
" reasons for division and strife, but as op-
: portunities for educafionand celebration,"
¯ said Peter Medwick, state coordinator,
: Delaware ACLU Lesbian and Gay Civil
¯ Rights Project. If these bills become laws,
¯ these states wouldjoin Hawaii, California,
: Vermont, New Hampshire, Wisconsin,
: Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island,
: Massachusetts, Connecticut and Nevada
¯ as states that already outlaw this type of
: discrimination.
:. Marylandhas the best chance ofbecom-
: ing the twelfth state to ban anti-Gay dis-
, crimination. The state Senate voted for a
~ measure to prohibit discrimination based
¯ on sexual orientation in honsing, public
: accommodafions and employment (see
: related story, p. 5).
¯ With ctn’tinued lobbying from the Gay
: civil rights group,_F_ree StateJustice, the
¯ House is also expected to pass the bill. ¯
Gov. Pan’is Glendening, amajor advocate
: of the Anti-Discrimination Act of 2001,
¯ will sign the bill into law if it reaches his ¯
desk. ’q’he Senate vote makes this a his-
: toric day for civil rights," said Blake
: ~umphrey, __m,_,a~a,_,,_,gin~,.gdirectorofFree Srate
Jnstiee, the state s Gay civil rights-lobby.
: "Maryland senators listened to their con-
~ stituents and’voted to end discrimination.
: In voting by such a wide margin, senators
¯ also sent amessage that bias and hate will ¯
not be tolerated in the Free State."
Lutherans Don’t Kick Out
Gay Friendly Church
KANSAS CITY, Mo.. (AP) ~- A Lutheran church
official has decided not to ejec~ a Kansas City congregation
that installed a Lesbian pastor who refused to
commit to a lifetime of celibacy. The pastor, Donna
Simon, found out that Abiding Peace Lutheran Church
will not be ejected from the membership roster of the
Evangdical Lutheran.Church in America. "For now, ¯
we’ve inherited eternal life,, a jubilant Simon said. "
Last October, the nearly 40 members of Abiding "
Peace, a predominantly Gay church in Kansas City, ¯
chose to defy the rules of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church by installing Simon. Simon’s sexual orienta- "
tion was not the issue. The Evangelical Lutheran ¯
Church in America, with about 5 million members ¯
nationwide, allows Gays~and Lesbians to be ordained ".
as minister~~if they pr0iiiise’lifelong celibacy.
Simon, 35, refused to make sucli-apromisei Because
of thhtTthe EVaii~dicdl~Eutheran~urch in, Ameri~ ¯
neveriofficially:approved~her for 6~dinafion " " ,"
When,o~rO~t.28~ AbidingPeace otdained her :,
anyway, it Committed ~in act of "eccleSiastic disobedience."
Thelast churches to ordain noncelibate Gay and
Lesbian pastors - St. Francis Lutheran Church and
First United.Lutheran Church, both in San Franciscowere
suspended in 1990 and ejected in 1995 from the
membership roster of the Lutheran Church.
However, after months of contemplation and discussion,
Bishop Charles Maahs, head of the Lutheran
synod in Missouri and Kansas, recommended the
Church be censured and admonished. That action bars
Abiding Peace’s members from taking part in a select
number of church committees. Abiding Peace, however,
will continue to be amemberofthe greaterfamily
of Lutheran Churches.-
Maahs said one reason his punishment was light is
that he believes it. is time to foster more discussion on
the question of Gay and Lesbian pastors. ’The ELCA
encourages this dialogue," Maahs said. "I know the
chief purpose of their calling and ordaining this pastor
is really to be in mission and ministering. The thing
that is important in all of this is that they have Shown
themselves to be people of good faith."
Colorado Senator Praises
¯ Scouts for Being Anti-Gay
DENVER (AP)-Aresolution praising the Boy Scouts
that succumbed to criticism this week was unfairly
branded as anti-Gay, its sponsor said. Senate Minority
Leader John Andrews, R-Lakewood, let his resolution
die rather than renew a fight that flared when the
measure was first considered by the Senate.
The resolution praised the Boy Scouts for standing
up for freedom of speech when they oppo_sed Gay
members. "It was framed as if it were an anti-Gay
resolution," Andrews said. "It was not. All itwas doing
was observing the Supreme Court has said private
organizations can be private." "America has gotten
very permissive about its morals and laws as far as
sexuality goes," Andrews added. The commendation
was part of Andrews’ resolution to create "Scouting
Week in Colorado."
A Minnesota United Way
Cuts Off Boy Scouts
WINONA, Minn. (AP) - The United Way of Greater
Winona plans to cut off funding to a pair of local Boy
Scout councils that refused to sign an agreement not to
discriminate againstGays. PeterWalsh, the local United
Way-president, said that his group won’t fund any
groups thatrefuse to sign thenondiscriminationpledge.
The U.S. Supreme Court last year ruled that the Boy
Scouts could refuse to allow Gay leaders. Since then
someUnited Way organizations have decided to stop
funding their local Boy Scout councils.
The Winona United Way currently funds the
Gamehaven Council, basedin Rochester, and the Gate-
" way Area Council, basedin LaCrosse, Wis. Duringthe
¯ currentbudgetyear, whichendsJune30,theGamehaven
Council received $16,473 and theGateway AreaCoun-
¯
cil received $2,108, said Beth Forkner Moe, the United
¯ Way chapter’s executive director.
Mike Diamond, executive director of the Gateway
Area Council, said the local scout organizations were
not free to sign. ’q’here are clauses in the agreement
that go against the policies of the Boy Scouts of
America nationally," he said.
Richard Good, executive director of the Gamehaven
Council, read from the Scouts’ official position: "We
believe open homosexuals should not provide a role
model for Scouts that is inconsistent with the Scout
Oath and t_~w. The Boy Scouts of Americardoes not
accept avowed homosexuals as members or leaders."
The loss of funds will definitely be felt. Goc~!~. :said
UnitedWayfunding accounts for about halftheadministrative
budget for the 22 troops and 1,100 Scouts in
Winona County.
¯ But for the Scout leaders, it’s a matter of principle.
’’We are a private organization with the right to maintain
our own standards ofleadership and decide who is
appropriate and not appropriate as adult leaders, x,n -
mond said.
Police InvestigateAlleged
Hate Crime at URI
SOLrI’H KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) - An assault on a
Gay University of Rhode Island graduate student will
be investigated as a hate crime, police said.
Kevin Bliven-Baker, 36, said three men confronted
him after he left a campus meeting of the Gay, Lesbian
and Straight Society. Bliven-Baker said one of the
attackers bumped.himwith his shoulder, knockinghim
into a snowbank, while another called him faggot. URI
President Robert Carothers.called the alleged assault
"repugnant."
~ Bliven-Baker reported the March 8 confrontation to
campus police this week, The Providence Journal
reported. "I used to feel really safe on this campus, and
¯ I know I have to watch myself now," Bliven-Baker
¯ said. URI Police Capt. Brian Cummings said he believes
the suspects were students. No arrests havebeen
made.
¯ KC Synagogue Opposes
Boy Scout Bias
." KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A synagogue that spon-
¯ sots one of the city’s oldest Boy Scout troops has
: decided to oppose the national Boy Scouts’ ban on
. Gays. The executive board at Congregation Beth Shalom
in Kansas City, which sponsors Troop 61, plans to
: send aletter requesting that the organization rescindits
¯ ban on Gays from its youth membership and adult
leadership ranks. ’’We are inclusive; we will not discriminate,"
Beth Shalom Rabbi Alan Cohen said.
¯ Troop 61 Was founded in 1925 and has seen 300 of
its 1,500 or so boys become Eagle Scouts, including its
." current scoutmaster, RonFredman. Fredmandisagrees
¯ with the ban on Gays, but he is not willing to disobey ¯
the national organization - a move that has cost other
troops their charters. "I don._’t want to be put in a
¯ position that could.lead to the death of (Troop) 61,"
¯ Fredman said. "I don’twant anything to get in the way
of this troop’s mission, which is to turn boys into
~ leaders."
~ TheTroop 61 will receive a copy of the letter that the
¯ synagogueis sending to the national council. Fredman
¯ said Troop 61 leaders will prepare a response to Beth
¯ Shalom’s position. Cohen pointed out that the letter is
aimed at the no-Gays policy and should not be perceived
as a criticism of Troop 61.
Find out for yourself how good the Lord is! - Ps. 34:8
Come share the
goodness of the
Lord with our
community
. Sunday Morning
11:00 AM
Children’s Worship
During Service
MCC United
Rev. Cathy Elliott, Pastor
1623 N. Maplewood (918) 838-1715 mcctulsa@aol.com
Community
- Unitarian Uni versalist
Congregation
at Community oJHope
2545 South Yale, Sundays at llam, 749-0595
A Welcoming Congregation
HOUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Sun. Worship, 10:45 am, Sunday School, 9:30 am
Wed. Bible Study, 7 pm, Sunday Eve. Service, 6pm
1517 S. Memorial, 628-0802, Info: 224-4754
The Open Arms Project
Young Adult Support Group
Outreach Program Thurs. Nights
Meet Others in a Safe Enviroment
Call for meeting times and place:
918-584-2325
Mingo Valley Flowers
9413 E. 31st St., Tulsa 74145
918-663-5934, fax: 663-5834, 800-~.AA-5934
Family Owned & Operated
Trinna L. W. Burrows, LSW, ACSW
Child, Family, Individual & Couple Psychotherapy
(918) 743-9559
2121. South Columbia;-Suite 420
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114-3518
The Pride Store
21st Street & Memorial
Tulsa Gay Community Services Center
743-GAYS (743-4297)
6-9 pm, Sunday - Friday
12-9 pm, Saturday, all sales benefit the Center
583-1248
Red Rock.Tulsa
Free Confidential HIV-Testing:
Walk-in Clinics
Tues. & Thurs., 5 -8 pm
at the Center, 1307 East 38th
Daytime appointments available.
Call for more information:
918-584-2325
G
AllliIrlI:an Red Cross
American Red Cross
Tulsa Area Chapter
10151 East Eleventh
Tulsa 74128
Dannette McIntosh
Diversity Co-ordinator
838-1100
Saint Aidan
4045 N. Cincinnati, 425-7882
Saint John
4200 S. Atlanta Place, 742-7381
OPENARMS
OPENMINDS
OPEN IqFARTS
Saint Dunstan
5635 East 71st, 492-7140
Trinity
501 S. Cincinnati, 582-4128
The Episcopal Church Welcomes You
National Boy Scout leaders defend the policy, saying
homosexuals are not good role models. Several
groups nationwide, have since pulled sponsorship of
Scout troops and barred troops from longtime meeting
places and some Eagle Scouts have returned their
badges in protest.
Houston Chapel Ends
Anti-Gay Discrimination
HOUSTON (AP) - A I-Iouston chapel known as a
refuge for human rights supporters has reversed a 30-
year-old policy banning same-sex union ceremonies
from being performed there. The Rothko Chapel was
founded by philanthropists John and Dominique de
Menil in 1971 as a sanctuary for people ofall faiths and
those committed to human rights.
About 20 wedding ceremonies are pe.,.~rformed at the
chapel eaCh.year. Thepolicy excluding Same=sexumons
was imposed when it-opened as per the wishes of
Domini.qiiede Menil;whodied in 1997at theageof89.
The’C~ap.el’s board of directors decided thi~ monthto
start all0~ving same-sex unions at the chapel. "It was"
a decision of Mrs. de Menil after consultation, with
different religions,’" said Nabila Drooby, former executive
director of the chapel who helped recommendthe
change. "It was takenby the board, too. Itwas
not hers alone. But times have changed."
Clarence Bagby of HoUston, a board member of the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said he was
thrilled with the switch. Bagby had criticized the
chapel know.n for opposing discrimination for banning
same-sex umons.
Chapel.presidentFrances Farenthold saidthe change
came after a yearlong study. "It was a concern ofmine
when I first heard about it," she told the Houston
Chronicle in Thursday’s editions. ’’I’ve always identified
with the Gay community in this city. I believe in
inclusivity." Same-sex unions would be strictly ceremonial
and are not recognized in Texas.
Transsexual Dancers
Allege Discrimination
NEW YORK (AP) - Two transsexual dancers have
filed a sextml discrimination suit against a trendy
nightclub after they say they were fired because the
club wanted to hire "real girl" dancers.
Amanda Lepore and Sophia LaMar, have filed a
$100,000 discrimination suit against Twilo, charging
they were wrongfully terminated simply because they
had once been men. "What are we supposed to have a
baby while go-go dancing or something?" Lapore
asked The New York Post.
The two women said they were fired last February
after several years working atthe club. "They’re worldclass
entertainers an~d they hadneverbeenreprimanded
by the club in any way," said the pair’s lawyer Tom
Shanahan. The club’s lawyer, Peter Sullivan, called
the suit "unfortunate," and insisted that the two. were
¯not fired as the result of discrimination. "Iqais is the
place that’s probably the most sensitive to the transsexual
community in New York. This is not an establishment
that discriminates against Gays or transsexuals,"
Sullivan said.
Lepore and LaMar, who work at a number of other
clubs around the city, say they are pursuing the suit
because "we need to protect other transsexuals."
Vatican Denies Sexual
Abuse of Nuns by Prtests
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican denied a report
in the National Catholic Reporter that says sexual
abuse of nuns by priests, especially in AIDS-ravaged
Africa, is a serious problem.
The article is based on five reports by senior mere-
¯ bers of women’s religious orders and a priest going
¯¯ back to 1994. The National Catholic Reporter said the
reports have been discussed at top Vatican levels.
¯ Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls acknowl-
¯ edged there were isolated cases of priests sexually ¯
abusing nuns, but said the problem is "restricted to a
¯
limited geographic area." Navarro-Valls said the
¯ Vatican was working with the leaders of religious
orders and he stressed the ’~aeroic" work of many
priests and nuns.
According to the National Catholic Reporter, priests
afraid of contracting AIDS sometimes ulrn to young
nuns, who are seen as "safe" sexual partners. "In a few
extreme instances, according to the documentation,
priests have impregnated nuns, then encouraged them
to have abortions," the magazine said.
In one case reported by Sister Maura O’Donohue, a
physician and member of the Medical Missionary of
Mary, a priest impreg~at.e~ a.~.~.t~n..,;then arr,m!ged fo~ an
abortion. She died :d~ng the al~0rtion and.he 0ff~CiatedatherftmeralMkSs,.
:i’ ".~ " "~ : .-
Therepolt.scite&!~~ ~eN.a~ofial c.ath0!i~ Reporier
also say that nuns i~h0-b~meil~eg~fifi~i ~.e. often
forced to leave their.rrders, While 0ae pfieSt~.invol,~ed
are allowed to contiiiue their minisixies.Th~ Vatican
statement was issued after the Italian media rehashed
the article. The Vatican had refused comment to the
National Catholic Reporter.
The National Catholic Reporter said there are no
comprehensive statistics on the sexual abuse of nuns,
¯ but the "frequency and consistency of the reports...
¯ point to a problem that needs to be addressed." The
reports citedby the National Catholic Reporter link the
¯ problem to cultumlattitudes toward celibacy as well as
to the fear ofAIDS and to traditions of female subser-
: vience.
Civil Rights Bill Appro.ved
by Maryland Commtttee
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Legislation to ban discrimination
against Gays cleared its biggest hurdle at
the end of March, winning narrow approval in a Senate
committee where it had died the last two years.
Gay civil rights activists, some choking back tears,
embraced and shookhands in a quiet celebration of the
victory they had won with strong backing from Gov.
Parris Glendening, who. made the bill on~ of his top
priorities this year. The 6-5 vote in the Judicial Proceedings
Committee will send thebill to thefloor of the.
Senate for debate.
Nancy Meyer, co-chairperson of Free State Justice,
which lobbied for the bill, said she is confident there
are enough votes in the Senate and House of Delegates
to pass it. But supporters have less than three weeks to
get the proposal through the Senate,-the House Judiciary
Committee and the House of Delegates. The
biggest danger would be a possible filibuster in the
Senate. Supporters of the bill werejust happy they had
finally gotten it out of the committee.
In a news conference minutes after the vote,
Glendening hailed the decision as "a tremendous victory
for justice and fairness and inclusion in Maryland."
"We cannot legislate acceptance. We cannot
wash out hatred out of cruel and callous hearts," he
said. But the governor said passage of the law would
protect Gays and Lesbians from discrimination on the
job and in housing.
Abouthalf of the people in Maryland are covered by
local Gay rights laws in Baltimore city and in Howard,
Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties.
Glendening’s bill would extend protections to the rest
of the state by adding sexual orientation to a law that
prohibits discrimination based on factors such as race,
religion and gender.
Thebill was.approved in cornmi tree afterabout three
hours of discussion spread over two days.
Gay Health Issues
More Than AIDS
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Vickie Smith said :
she was 30 before she found a gynecologist
in whom she could comfortably confide
that she was a Lesbian. "I certainly ~
hadn’t had anyone who didn’t, like, make ¯
aface," Smith said about thedoctors she’d -"
seen before .visiting Dr. Fe Mondragon. :
Often, she said, male gynecologists told
her, "You don’t seem to be sexually active
. . . Someone your age should be very
active." "
Fears of doctors giving moral lessonsor
simply not understanding the mechanics
of non-heterosexual practices can lead -"
patients to avoid discussing intimate de- ,"
tails withhealth professionals, or worse, to °
steer dear of health care altogether.
To help solve these problems, the Em- "
pire State Pride Agenda lobbied state leg- "
islators for $5 million to educate health ¯
professionals and provide support and re- ;
sources for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgendered people. In the past three ;
years, the Pride Agenda successfully lobbied
for a total of about $5.5 million in
state money for similar projects. "We’re ".
kind of the last ones left in terms of
underserved communities," said Sheila
Healey, Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation
program director.
Between 5% and 12% of nursing students
questioned in a 1998 study said they -"
despised Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual :
people, according to a study in the Journal :
of Nursing Education. More than half of -
the Black people who answered a 1999 .
Kaiser Family Foundation survey said that
they felt health care professionals treat ;
people unfairly based on race or ethnicity ,.
either very often or somewhat often. 62%
of Latinos said the same thing.
Mondragon, Smith’s gynecologist, does
not advertise any attempt to attract Lesbians
-or any specific group. One wall inher
office is filled with photos of babies she’s
delivered-mostly to heterosexual couples.
She also has helped Lesbians start families.
And Mondragondoes not ask patients to
reveal their sexual habits, or lack thereof,
but takes care not to assume the patient’s
sexuality. ’’We don’t ask, ’Do you need
contraceptives?’" said Mondragon. ’’We
ask, ’Do you have a need for birth control?’
We try to eliminate any kind of
assumptions." "If youbill yourselfas (providing)
women’s health services," she said,
’~hy shouldn’t that include the knowl-
.edge of what Lesbians do or what they
need?"
Pot Club At US
Supreme Court
vent marijuana from being given to seriously
ill patients for pain relief.
The cooperativd is a distribution club
operating under California’s Proposition
215, the voter-approved law that allows
the possession and use of marijuana for
medical purposes on a doctor’s recommendation.
That’s where Alcalay used to
get his marijuana. But he’s had to look
elsewhere since the federal government
sued the cooperative and five other California
pot clubs in 1998 to prevent them
from distributing the drug. Afederal judge
sided with the government. But last year,
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court ofAppeals ruled
that "medical necessity" is alegal defense.
California officials, including Attorney
General Bill Lockyer, argue that the state
has the right to enforceqts medical marijuana
law, which was approvedby voters
in 1996. Distribution dubs sprang up because
Proposition 215 iS~silent on how
patients will get marijuana, outside of
growing and harvesting it themselves.
The Supreme Court is not looking directly
at Proposition 215, but rather at
whether medical necessity may be used as
a defense against federal drug bans. It’s
unclear whether *he justices will rule on
that general issue or rulemorenarrowly on
how lower courts have handled this case.
If the court says "Yes" to the necessity
defense, it could make it easier to distribute
medical marijuana in California and
the eight other states with similar laws -
Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington,
Arizona, Maine, Nevada and Colorado.
Justice Department lawyers declined to
comment on the case. They have argued
that allowing dubs to hand out marijuana
compromises the government’s ability to
enforce federal drug laws.
Advocates say marijuana is a reliable
and nontoxic therapy that in some cases is
the only relief for suffering people. That
point of view was endorsed recentlyby the
Institute of Medicine. The institute, which
was asked to examine the issue by the
White House drug policy office, said that
because the chemicals in m~ijuana ease
anxiety, stimulate appetite, ease pain and
reduce nausea and vomiting, they can be
helpful for people undergoing chemotherapy
and people with AIDS.
Alcalay, a 59-year-old physician who
serves as theclub’ s medical director, started
using marijuana to keep down his medication
after he was diagnosed with HIV in
the 1980s. HIV turned into AIDS and in
the mid-1990s Alcalay almost died from
an intestinal illness that ran roughshod
over his wedkened immune system. He
credits marijuana with keeping him alive
until the advent of drugs that boosted his
immune system and wiped out the inteStinal
bug.
Alcalay didn’t make it into the book
about dying. Recently, he ran into the
author. "He was surprised to see me,"
Alcalay said. -
On the Net: Oakland Cannabis Coop:
http://www.rxcbe.org
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A few years
ago, an author writing about death asked
ailing AIDS patient Michael Alcalay how
hewas accepting, dying. "I’m not accepting
it," Alcalay retorted. Alcalay is alive
today~thanks.in ~part~ he believes,~.to doses
of marijuana~that :heiped him j.keep hiS~,~:- 1 In 9SouthAfriCans
m~eines::do~ ana~. iippetite.’~p as-lie. :,, AreHIV. Positive/" foughtthcdisease.. ~:~..... ~ :’ ~:,........ - ¯ ’
Alcalay was in the audience as~.lawyerg,~-~’ ~- PRETORIA, -Sonth Africa (AP).#.One.in~i;~
try to~convtnee :the U~.S.---,Supreme:,Court~ -:: rune South Mn~.c.c.c.c.c.c.c.c.c:am ~s. HI.V-posm~e~,~e:,
that federal anti-drug,laws ShOuldg’t pre~-7~ government sa~d, more than prev~ousty,
/
thering
April 20-23. 2001
Osage Hills State Park
Pow Wow
Non-Talent Show
Talking Circles
Crafts
Give-away
Stomp Dance
Fellowship
Native Games
Guest Speaker
John
For more information and to be put on
the ailing list, call:
Hawk ke -...918-382 1276 Tommy
Ch sbro - 9 r .
~lob.al. "
~’is i011 local
action
April 11, 2001
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Allen Chapman Activity Center,
The University of Tulsa
Planned Parenthood of Eastern Oklahoma and
Western Arkansas, Inc.
and The Universi~ of Tulsa
with the support of
~ Planned Parenthood" Global Pariners~
Want to save Money and
Help Build a Community Center?
Switch to Rainbow Communications
Long Distance and-More, 10% of Revenues Will Benefit
Tulsa Oldahomans for Human Rights
Ca_pim) C~p~n~n4"Gene(~il~Fun~
call 665 I ’or’ev ni g at r4 7 602.
thought in a country that already has the
world’s largest population of infected
people. In the hard-hit eastern prbvince of
KwaZulu-Natal, the infection rate was
greater than one in every three people, a
government study said.
The study conducted at 400 clinics nationwide
concluded that about 4.7 million
In South Africa, leading drug companies
went to court this monthto blockalaw
that would let South Africa both import
generic drugs andmake its own. But as the
West pays more attention to demands for
affordable HIV drugs for sub-Saharan
Africa, theimpoverished regionwithmore
than two-thirds of the world’s HIV-posi-
South Africans were HIV-positive as of : tiv¢ people, drug.makers simultaneously
the end of 2000. Previous government " announced a rapid-fire Series of concesestimates
had put the figure at 4.2 million,
or one in 10. About 24.5% of women
attending public postnatal clinics were infected,
up from 22.4% in 1999, the study
based on a sampling of 16,000 pregnant
women found.
Health Minister MantO Tshabalala-
Msimang said the figur.e.s represented a
leveling off from th~’St~iJ rise in theearly
to mid- 1990s, but said the pattern ofinfection
suggested that prevention efforts
needed to target those who were in stable
relationships and might have thought they
were less vulnerable.
Most HIV-positive South Africans cannot
afford the drugs that could prolong
their lives. Last week, President Thabo
Mbeki rejected calls to declare a state of
emergency to allow .the nation to import
cheaper generic drugs to deal with its
AIDS crisis. Declaring a state of emergency
would allow South Africa to produce
the generic drugs without breaking
World Trade Organization rules on bypassing
patent laws.
Mbeki told parliament a state of emergency
was not needed because South Africa
has its own law permitting both importation
and production of generic drugs
-althoughimplementation has been stalled
by a. lawsuit brought by major drug compames.
Africa Fighting
High Drug Costs
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) - Far from
the big courtroom battle over HIV-drug
patents in South Africa, the West African
nation of Ivory Coast quietly imports
knockoff generic HIV drugs as it has for
years - without fuss, patent payments or
apologies.
"Believe me, I don’t care," Kassim
Sidibe, director of Ivory Ctast’s AIDS
program, said of patent rights. ’XDur concern
is what we can do for our people,"
said Sidibe, who runs the national program
out of a dusty concrete compound in
a workifig-dass Abidjan neighborhood.
"The lower the prices are for us, the better
for our people."
With that attitude, Ivory Coast has become
one of the first African nations to
negotiate at-cost deals for leading HIV
drugs. And now the country has reached a
new deal that is expected to bringdownthe
cost of amonth’ s HIV dru~treatment from
$410 this year to $88 to-$112 next year.
Senegal, Rwanda and Uganda announced ."
similar deals with drug makers this month.
In the West, a month’s HIV treatment -
wo.ul,d cost about $1 ~000.......
~ It s anexampleoftheWes~tiretheWes~ -
big drngmake,are f~ci.~g(~ generics"
.’Wefeel drugm~kersshould~|kel~mfi~,
mEm’opeandNorthAmerica,, stud !dibe.
¯ sions in receht weeks.
¯ Most have been price cuts for Africa, to
: production cost or even below. Bristol-
: Myers Squibb wenteven further last week,
¯ saying it would make its patent for the
drug Zerit available in South Africa at no
: cost- effectively opening the market to its
¯ generic competitors. Bristol-Myers
. stressed it would stickwith the drug corn-
: panies’ lawsuit in SouthAfrica, however-
] portraying the case as a broad defense of
¯ patent rights fbr all its drugs.
¯ It’s a different story in the rest.of sub-
Saharan Africa, where Bristol2Myers says
:- it holds no patents for its HIV drugs. So
when it comes to acquiring HIV drugs
there, it’s a little more like the Wild West.
° In Ivory Coast, the government gets the
HIV drugs it wants by taking bids for them
worldwide. When two of the bids for 2001
came back for knockoff drugs at what
Ivory Coast deemed the lowest and best
offer, Ivory Coast took them.
The national AIDS program shipped in
AZT .and stavudine from a Bombay-based
generic company, Cipla Ltd., bypassing
their brand-name makers, GlaxoSmith-
Kline and Bristol-Myers. Bristol-Myers
markets stavudine as Zerit. The result was
"- a 20% savings in the average monthly
therapy- down to $410 from nearly $500,
said Makan Coulabily, an official with the
.AIDS program.
Sidibe, thenational AIDS director, didn’t
bother to determine whether there were
patent rights at issue or not. "We bargain
until we get the minimum price," he said.
Yale: Undue Profits
From .AIDS Drug?
....’Not-from us; We don~t have anythingy. ~ -returned.requests for comment~.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Some 600
researchers have signed a petition calling
on Yale to help make a university-owned
AIDS drug more available in developing
nations. The petition drive was launched
lastmonth,justafter Bristol-Myers Squibb,
whichmanufacturers the drug d4T, pledged
to cut the price in South Africa and not
contest if generic drugs are distributed,
The seeds of the protest were planted
when Yale licensed the drug, known commercially
as Zerit, developed on campus
in 1987, to Bristol-Myers Squibb. It was a
relativelycommonagreement thatallowed
the university to retain the drug’s patent
and receive royalties while its research
was distributed to millions. In turn, the
company conlrolled manufacturing and
distribution strategies.
"I became a scientist because I wanted
to helpcreatenew cures for diseases around
the world," said Fran Balamuth, a :Yale,.
immtmobiologist who circulated the petition.
:~’Now.Lfind ttmtiY~!,e.is:.turning
results of pdblicly funded research;into.,
Ne_ither ¥~,no~ Bri~tol-My~s Sqifibb.
by Jim Christjohn, entertainment editor
"My music often unfolds like the book ¯
of my life," says Stevie Nicks. And that "
being said, ’Trouble in Shangri-La," is an
excellent read as well as a listen. It’ll be "
nice to hear some New Stevie on the radio ¯
- and the New Stevie is fabulous! ¯
Hernew album (heardmpromo form) is ¯
a winner. Her voice is
dearerand strongerthan
before. "Haunting" is a
word I would apply to
this album as a wholeit
does’~n~t
S te~ile’; " ~XiSre~~d
some’: d6ubi
abiliii\~!~it.: o~e p~,
aslCJn~iTo~n eeff~~ to
work with her on some
songs. Andhe said, ’~No
... You don’ tneed anyone
to help you with
your songs. Do it Yourself."
And so she has,
and done an excellent
job at that. In fact, that
story became a song itself,
"That Made Me
Stronger."
Stevie does country proud i~ her ’Too
Far From Texas," which I loved, though.
I’m not too partial to country. DiXie Chick
Natalie Maines guests on this track. Stevie
couldeasily cross over, andifwise,Wamer-
Reprise Records will’ capitalize on that.
Another track, ~andlebnght, h circulated
widely in demo form, being from
the early 70’ s, and is wonderful to hear in
finished form, with the.edge of experience
that Stevienow has in her voice. "Bombay
Sapphires," with Macy Gray guesting, is
another track that has a driving beat with
that lost quality of regret and lost love.
"Fall From Grace" is a rocker, good for
that day-after-being-dumped-angry moments.
According to Stevie, it will be
included On the tdur. ’~t’ s the perfect balance
to ’Edge of 17,’ in terms of energy.
It’ s a great song to rock out to"
Lestyou thinkit all:recrimination songs,
there are a couple of hopeful songs about
love gone right (although no one does.
anger like Stevie). ’~Love Is," a closing
epiphany, with Sarah McLachlan onpiano
and guitar and background vocals, is an
ode to what one does for love, and that
even in the brightness of theflame, thereis
darkness, and vice versa.
The TroubleInShangn-La albumwas
started before the 1997 Fleetwood Mac
"Dance" album and tour, and has been
well worth thewait. It is as strong analbum
as her "Belladonna,"and anequal for ’The
Wild Heart."
No outdated Stevie here, she has successfully
reinvented herself for the new
millennium. "To not grow is to die," She
asserts, "ofcourse, youwantto workwithin
a framework that best suits your talent and
style. But you also want to continually
shake things up.
’Trouble in Shangri-La" has a spare
acoustic sound, and in spite of the fact
there are many producers,has a sound that
carries all the way through, much like a
narrative. The songs stand on their own,
yet work exceptionally wall ~ a collection.
Noother artist seems to have that gift for
writing songs that can touch on such universal
themes thatonecaneasily see events
in one’ s ownlife mirrored in the music and
lyrics of an artist. And
that is the magic of
Stevie Nicks;friends for
whomI’veplayedthese
tracks or sent these lyrics
(an’d those of past
albums) are astounded
by just how close they
come to describing
these events with amaz=~ "
ing details. And that is
the connection and why
I have always looked
~orwardtoanew release
by this artist.
Fleetwood Mac is
confirmed to be going
back into the studio in
September to record a
new album after
Stevie’s tour for
: ’Trouble." The big question on that is
¯ whether Christine McVie can be lured out
of retirement to participate. She’s quite
¯
happy puttering around her manse in En-
: glandanddoesn’t wanttobebotheredwith
¯¯ musicmaking; it seems.
More likely, her arthritis is.so bad that
¯
playing keyboards is simply too painful;
along with the fact that she hates touring;
and the attitude I noticed when The Mac
: toured for the Dance album in 97. Shejust
: seemed to be so bored up there, staring
¯ listlessly at the crowd and mouthing along
¯ with Stevie and Lindsey’s songs during
¯
the lead vocals.
¯ Personally, I dbethrilled,butthen, that s
¯ me. Hey, I’ll put on a blonde wig, and we
¯" sing in the same key... And I can fake the
¯
piano, with the backup keyboardists like
: she had on the Dance tout.
¯ If you caught the Judy garland biopic
: last month, you were lucky. The perfor-
~ mances were top notch, and the actors to a
: tee were so on target with the mannerisms
~ and voices that it was downright eerie. I
¯ hadan ardent interest in Judy’ s musiclong
¯
before I knew I was supposed to.
¯ Thebestintroduction to her workcanbe
: :found in the "Judy: The Complete Decca
Masters"box set, well worth theprice. Her
¯ earliest works are there, along with some
¯ gems that were overlooked. Her career
¯ spanned two periods, really - the MGM
¯
years, and then the concert years. ’The
¯ London Sessions" hard to find but still in
: print, is a good survey of the latter.
¯ The recently remastered "Judy At
¯
Carnegie hall" is a "must have," as the
¯ sound onit is incredible andit really is like
¯ you are there. It’s a wonderful document ¯
of the power of her live performances.
¯
During my aforementioned phase of
: "Judy beforelknew I was supposed tolike
¯ her"-ness, I really only liked the MGM
: stuff; the countess soundtracks to gems
¯ like ’%Vizard of Oz," see Amuse, p. 9
Stevie Nicks
Mozart’s
Underwritten by
The John Steele Zink Foundation
April 21, 27, 29, 2001
TulH I~urftcmlnl Arts Cent~r
Call 587-4811
www.tulsaopera.com
Timothy-W. Daniel
Attorney at Law
An Attorney who will fight for justice
& equality for Gays & Lesbians
Domestic Partne)ship Planning,
Personal Injury,Criminal Law & Bankruptcy
1-800-742-9468 or 918-352-9504
128 East Broadway, Drumright, Oklahoma
Weekend and evening appointmenl.s are available.
Kelly Kirby, CPA, PC
Certified Public Accountant
a professional corporation
Lesbians and Gay men face many special
tax situations whether single or as couples.
Electronic filing is available for faster refunds,
4021
747-5466
South Harv,ard Aventi , Suite210, Tulsa 74135
"Meet Me In St. Louis,"-"Easter Parade,"
and so on from 1937 to 1950 or so
when MGM fired her. Only after the
miniseries aired have I really listened to
the post MGM stuff, and discovered how
good it really was.
Dorothy’s voice is
a bit older, but also
wiser, and a bit more
technically refined.
For an example of
this, rent "Wizard of
OZ" and then watch
1954’s "A Star Is ¯
Born." Judy’ s transformationfrom
child
star to actress is fully
evident in these two
pictures.
And she was vastly’underrated as an actress.
For example, her performance in
"The Clock" is classic, and it’ s a film that,
while ab-grademelodramaoflost loves, is
elevated to high art by her first, and only,
non-singing dramatic performance.
My friend Karin, of the "raging Lesbian"
column, adds this caveat: "The only
thing I would add is after the bit about
’The Clock "- you NEED to mention that
she also was nominated for Best Supporting
Actress for "Judgment at Nuremburg"
or you’ll have queens descending from
places you didn’ t think existed in Tulsa! It
was an excellent performance. VERY
small, but very effective."
Judy was nominated for an Oscar for "A
Star is Born," which she should have won,
but didn’ t due to politics. As for the queens
coming from places I didn’ t know existed
descending upon me, well, that doesn’t
really sound so bad...
Listening to her music made from 1936
to 1968, I am struck by how much of it is
so deceptively simple and eminently
hummable. When’ s the last lime a tune on
the radio had you humming along because
the melody was so infectious it stayed in
your head?
And intelligent lyrics that sdl the song
arefew and far between these days as wall.
Songs like ’~Zing! Went the Strings of My
Heart" were and are really wall written and
fun songs - to listen to and to sing. If
you’ ve never heard of these songs or heard
them at all, go grab a Judy Anthology -
there’ s lots of them that feature the early
stuff- and take a listen. You’ll be glad you
did. Rumor has it that Capitol, which was
her recording label from 1955 until her
death, might reissue all the albums she did
for them as a complete set, along with
outtakes and unreleased songs. Hopefully,
this will happen, while her star is again
making a comeback. Its a damn shame she
isn’t still here to see it.
By the way, for those too young to
know, the anniversary of the Stonewall.
Riots, June 22, when drag queens and their
friends fought back after one too many
police raids and harassment occurred in
New York, heralding the beginnings of
contemporary activism for equal rights for
Gay and Lesbian folk, happened the day of
Judy Garland’s funeral.
According to mythopoetic interpreta-
"... No other artist seems
to have that fft for writson
s that can touch
on such universal themes
that one can easily see
events in one’s own llfe
m~rrorecl m the mus,e
lyrles of an artist....
: tions of that days events, many linked thc
¯ two events together, even though there’ ~
¯ no hard evidence to support it. And upon
: such things are miniseries made of, and
¯ based on.
¯¯ If you get the chance to rent or buy
"Broken Hearts Club," do. It’s a good
¯ addition to theGay moviecollection we all
have. Featuring the
ever-hunky Dean
Cain "Lois and
Clark: The New Adventures
of Superman";
and the father
from "Frasier," John
Mahoney; along with
Andrew Keegan "10
things I Hate About
You"; MattMcGrath
"Boys Don’t Cry";
Mary McCo~,.mick
’a:’ri~ate Parts. :, and
¯ Nia Long "Soul Food," written and di-
¯ rected by Greg Berlanit, co-executiveproducer
of "Dawson’ s Creek."
: The plot, as such, is simple - a slice of
¯ life in the Gay (can’tcall it90’s anymore,
¯ what do we call it? The Gay thousands?)
: 2000,withaseries ofvignettesintertwined
¯
by the theme of friendship among Gay
¯ men.
¯ We meet Dennis on the eve of his 28th ¯
birthday, who is whining about his dys-
¯ functional family of friends, indecisive as
_. to whether they’re the best or worst thing
¯ that ever happened to him. ¯
There’ s Benji, the youngestgroupmem- "
¯ ber, a punk wannabe witha penchant for
¯ gym bunnies; Howie, the psych student
¯ who thinks too much andlives to little (no,
¯ that character was not based on yours
¯ truly...); Cole, the actor bunnyboy who
¯ candono wrong, lovin’emandleaving’em
¯ as fast as you can say revolving door who
¯
also "accidentally" keeps stealing every-
" one else’s guy; Patrick, the cynical quip-
. ster (now, that’ s based on yours tntly); and
¯ Taylor, resident drama queen (no com-
" merit), who, until recently, prided himself
¯ on his long term relationship. Rounding
.. out the cast is Jack, the patriarchal force of
¯ the group. ¯ Andof course, everyone ends up at each
¯ others’ throat after tragedy strikes, and
with aMickey Rooney/Judy garland wrap-
" up, ends up friends again. The plot, as
¯ such, is somewhat scattered, not really
¯ sure where to focus; and of course, we’re
¯ dealing with "types" here, but the actors
turn in fine performances all, and the film
¯ is enjoyable and does provide afew laughs
¯ and insights. 3 & 1/2 out of 5 stars. ¯
¯ It’s a fun film, and fairly accurate in its
portrayals - we all.know people like this -
¯ Ijust wish there were morefocus. The film
¯ simply tries to come at the issues it raises ¯
from everyone’s perspective, and it left
~ me thinking that if the director and writer
¯ had chosen maybe two.or three, it would
.. have been more cohesive and a tighterfilm
¯ with more intensity and character development.
." Locally The TU Gay and L~sbian Film
¯ Festival runs April 5-7, starting at 7pm on ¯
the 5th and 6th and 2pm on the 7th in the
." Business Administration Hall. Films to be
shown include Salut Victor, Orlando,
¯ Westler, Homoteens, seeAmuse, p. 10
by Lamont Lindstrom
Enthusiastic pornographers now flood
my. m,ailbox wi0a catalogs.. (And let me
pause here to thank whichever magazine
sold its lnailing list.) I was picking through
one ofthesefour-colorbrochures
recently, eyeballing
lurid blurbs for videos an.~
DVDs. "Raw" sex,
seems, is a major selling
point. Hot condomless
pornos must either date
back to an era before the
HIV epidemic or are new
productions that cater to a
pow,e.rf,ul,, emerging s;e,.xual
fetish: "oatebacking.
Public healthofficials
and HIV prevention workers
ate anguished, although
probably not surprised, to
find that the prohibited has
become the desired. But
there ismore to the story of
why barebacking, nowadays,
sells pornographic
videos. True enough, we
often want_what others say
we should not have. But
our desires also reflect our
worldview - or what might be called our
culture’s mythic tmderstandings.
Thumbing throughthat catalog,notthose
fleshy photos, it was text that caught my
eye. Several pithy terms have sprung
quickly into use to describe unprotected
sex. These same-few words appear again
and again in video advertisements~ in personal
adsi and_in website mission state-.
merits such as for this Yahoo! Group: ’The
world’s largest bareback list. THE list for
menwholove their sex condom:free, guilt: ."
free, hot, and spermy."
Barebackers are gay men who e~tjoy ..
raw, skin-to-skin, n~atural sex with other :
men." So condom-free is now bareback; :
it’s skin=to-skin; it’s natural; it’s raw. ¯
~ "Skin-to-skin;" yes. And! get "natural;"
and also the cleverness of ’*oarebackingy
But why "’raw?" Straight away comes to
mind a Classic 1960s analysis by the celebrated
French anthropologist Claude
Levi-Strauss. LevbStrauss’ ’~ntroduction
to the sc~en,ce of. mythology" was published
in English, in 1969, as The Rawand
theCooked. Asa strncturalist, Levi-Stratus
believed he could locate the essential architectural
elements, underlying any cultural
productionbe this marriage customs,
or totemic taboos, or myth. He claimed
that the human brain is.neur01ogically
Structured to think in dualisms, binaries,
and oppositious. We:define One thing in
terms of another, and vice versa:
. A principal,dualism, that I_~vi-Strauss
discovered in his South American Indian
myths is an opposition betweennature and
Culture. Nattir~iis nature.While Culture iS
anything that people create: Level-Strauss
argued that htima~s think mosfly in. concrete
terms rather than abstract. Outmyths
: v~hile fundamentally playing with an
intangible opposition between nature and
culture ~ rephrasethis: abstract concern
concretely as a matter of raw food versus
cookedfood.Themwis natural; the cooked
.. cultural-; and cookingis any sort of techno-
: logical process (condoms, say) that trans-
¯ forms nature into culture.
Americans share with many people
¯ around the world the symbolic predilec-
"... Americans slmre
with many people
around the world the
symbolle predileetlon for
equatln~ food and body,
eatln~ and havln~ sex.
(Keep thls in mind next
time some drunk
hollers out ’Eat me!’)
This sort of symbolism
is ’iconic’ ... insofar as
it ,naturally eehaes the
realness of bodie~:
Our multipurpose
mouths do more than
tion for equating food and
body, eating and having
sex. (Keep this inmindnext
time some drunk hollers out
"Eat me!") This sort of
symbolism is "iconic" (in
the language of American
semioticianCharles Pierce)
insofar as it naturally echoes
the realness of bodies:
Our multipurpose mouths
do more thanjust food-processing.
We use food
(twinkles, chocolate; vanilla)
and its qualities (hot,
sweet, hunky) as alanguage
in which- to talk about sex.
Food is either raw or
cooked and so, we imagine,
is sex. Skin-to-skin sex
is natural andtherefore uncooked-
orraw. Condoms,
conversely, cook the expejust
food-proeessln~. " rience. Barebacking, also,
’ ’ is natural in that one rides
¯ the horse without a saddle (a device that
¯ cultures, or cooks the ride). The symbolic
: connections, here, are even clearer in
: Frenchwhereddingahorsewithn0 saddle
¯ is "monter crn," which translates as "ride -
¯ raw." Or;in an.English parallel, "to sleep
¯~ in the raw"me,arts to sleep naked- without
:- any transformingpajamas. - : ’.~-
¯ Raw. sex sdls videos not only because it
¯ is forbidden and therefore guiltily tempting.
It sells videos because it is natural and
therefore desirable. Whichis better? Natural
foods or processed foods? Sincere
emotion or social pretense? The untamed
forest orthe zoo?
But things aren’t so simple or so one~
sided. Now which is. better? Bloody cow
flesh or steak? Dank caves or cathedrals?
: HIV or medicine? Humans always value
¯ culture - cooking - as much as we do
: nature: Culture’s devices that transform
: the world make us human. Cooking draws
¯ the line between humanity and animal
: nature. This is the message that Levi-
: Strauss read in his myths.
¯¯ Raw sex may be.good because it is
natural, but condomed sex might similarly
." be appreciated justhxcause irishin fact,
¯ cooked - that is to say, it is refined., civi- ¯
lized, and technological. Gay men in par-
: titular should appreciatethis distinction.
¯ Many. mythologies - yet another dual-
" ism - position women as.natural in coun-
: t.erpoint to cultured men. Raw sexis feral-
¯ rune (thatis, natural, and perhaps hetero-
: sexual)while cooked sex is masculine
: (cultured, homosexual). H-IV prevention
¯ efforts ~have attempted to play up the ur-
¯ bane sophistication of condoms - their
¯ colors; textures, tastes, and playful meth-
¯ ods of use. They could,no doubt, domore. ¯
Condomsl- as a mode of cooking - can
: make things hotter.
: Lamont Lindstrom, Ph.D. teaches an-
. thropology at ihe University of Tulsa.
program that targets and attracts the Black ."
Gay community. "Fhere’s an enormous -
complacency about contracting HIV," "
Kegeles said. "It’s not a big issue any- "
more. People still remain healthy and ¯
strong: They think they can take two pills
in the morning and two pills at night."
Kegeles said the Gay black commumty
hasn’t been studied sufficiently, and :it
needs to be examined more closely because
Gay Black men do not necessarily
frequent mainstream Gay bars and other "
venues. In addition, she said there’s a ¯
larger stigmaattaehedtoBlackGays. Many ¯
~ do not even admit they have sex with other "
men, Kegeles explained.
Leniere Miley, assistant coordinator at
the House of Latex Project in New York, ¯
said it’s important to seek out Black Gay
men and educate them about the risks of "
unsafe sex in a message that appeals to ¯
them. He said it’ s a toughjob that goes far
beyond simply sponsoringhip-hop dances
and posters depicting Black culture.
’~eople have different ways ofcommu:
nicating and hearing things," Miley said.
"Maybe the people in the .Black community
couldn’ t hear it. Ithas to be tailored to
the communities they’re going to."
On the Net: www.amfar.org
To report hate sp~-ch or I
violence, call the Gay " Community Center: 743-4297 I
Summer in my Veins, High Art, Poduck
andPassion, and To My Women Friehds.
The Bonnie Rideout Scottish Trio finishes
outthe PerformingArtCenterTrust’ s
Celtic Music Series. It should be a good
¯ time for all, especially if yon,re a fan of ¯
traditional. Celtic fiddling. April 6-7, 596-
¯ 7111.
¯ "AnAll-AmericanEvening"is theTulsa
¯ Ballet’S tribute to American choreogra-
¯ phers. Featuring the Oklahoma premiere
’of Balanchine’s "Who Cares?" with
Gershwinmusic, Paul Taylor’ s ’~2ompany
B"withAndrews Sisters, music,andAgnes
DeMille,s "Rodeo", (usually featuring a
nearly naked cowboy, but given the ads
I’ ve seen for this production, it looks like
no such treat is in store). April 6-8, PAC,
749-6006.
For country queens, three of country’s
queens will be performing April 7 at the
¯ MaxwellConventionCenter~.JanieFricke,
:. Lacie J Dalton, and Juice Newton will be
: a-hootin, and a-hollefin.584-2000.
¯ For queens of the Garden, it,s time for
¯ Tulsa’s Spring Garden Mart from the 13-
: 14 at Tulsa Garden Center; 746-5125.-
: April 19-28, Heller Theatre presents
¯ ’WitalSigus"; by Jane Martin, featuring
: monologues by some of Tulsa’s most tal-
:. ented actresses, 746-5065.
¯ And last but hardly least, Tulsa Opera
: presents "The Marriage of Figaro" by
" Mozart April 21, 27 and 29. 587-4811.
IGTA member
Call 341. 6866
ntern tion
ToursIormoreinlormation.
"TULSA COUNTY
DEMOCRATIC
Country Club Barbering
Custom Styling for Men & Women
David Kauskey
3310 E. 51st, 74%0236, T.~es.-Fri., 8-5:30, Sat. 8-5pm
Tulsa’s only
.College Hill
Presbyterian Church
In response to God’ s Love,
College Hill Presbyterian Church
is a community of God’ s people
called to tell others the
Gospel of Jesus Christ
through worship,
service, and evangelism.
To nurture our faith, we gather for
worship, prayer,
study and fellowship.
Trusting in a living, loving God,
we seek to become a compassionate
voice for peace and justice.
Our congregation welcomes all
persons who respond in trust and
obedience to God’s grace
in Jesus Christ, and desire to become
part of the membership and ministry
of Christ’ s church.
Membership is open to all people
regardless of race, ethnic origin,
worldly condition, marital status, or
sexual orientation.
by Karin Gregory ¯
Do you ever feel like your life is a .
Broadway play, a Hollywood movie, or a "
television sitcom? Of course you do -
you’re Gay! Some of you even think your "
life is a 1930’s Hollywood musical, or La ¯
Boheme, or Rent, but we’re talking here ¯
about a Gay couple. No, not that kind of "
couple- not the butch/femme, but the Gay
man/Lesbian couple. The kind of couple ¯
that doesn’t require a lawyer if things "
don’t work out. Fm in a Will And Grace "
situation, but we’re both Gay. So we’d ¯
comemoreunder the heading ofthat Broad- "
way play/Hollywood movie/television .
sitcom, The Odd’Cmiplb’. One guess as to "
which one of us is Felix! ¯
As you recall from the play/movie/TV ¯
show, Felix, the neamik, was kicked out of "
his house by his wife and comes to live "
with his sloppy friend, Oscar. Things were ¯
a tad different withus- Lesbian Oscar was "
takeninbyGay Felix, butwewon’ tquibble
over little things. Both characters had ex- ¯
spouses, and I suppose you can’t get more ¯
EX than SHE WHO MUST NOT BE."
NAMED. When I first moved in, Gay "
Felix had just met ’~the one." Yeah, right.
When ’~he one" treated him much like I ¯
had been treated (except ’~&e one" actually
communicated!), who was here to "
hold him, talk him down from varioul
ceilings in the apartment, and generally ¯
offer comfort and support?Lesbian Oscar "
of course. "
Being withGay Felix guarantees there’ s ¯
always drama in the place. Whether it
deals with "the one" of the week, our dog "
Roxie and her many weirdnesses, or just
mundane money problems, it is NEVER a ¯
dull life. Simple problems are always "
turned up twelve notches with us. If we "
have a problem with the apartment corn- °
plex, we decide to move! The fact that we ¯
can’t afford to break the lease doesn’t "
occur to us at the time. You have a mad "
queenand apissed-offdyke on yourhands. ¯
We should have a sign above the door that ¯
reads, "Abandon logic, all ye who enter." "
And I’m now walking a dog, like a true "
Lesbian. Gay Felix came in one night, ¯
laughing, because the dog now lifts her ¯
leg. Who was blamed? Lesbian Oscar, "
who oftenplays her favoritemusician (and "
we all know who she is by this time, don’t
we?) while the dog sits on the bed listen- ."
ing. So when she lifted her leg when I "
walked her, I praised her, calling her Me- "
lissa and Butch. ¯
I have to say that I’ve never known any ¯
one person, even Felix Unger from the
play/movie/TV show, to wash so much
clothing. Gay Felix doesn’ townthatmany ¯
clothes, butdanm if I don’ thear the washer
and dryer going on and on each night and ¯
morning. Maybe some of you Gay men :
can enlighten me on this subject. I’m at a
total loss. Gay Felix even remarked early °
on in our nightly, daily, aftemoonly, etc., °
clothes washings, "I never thought I’ d see ¯
bras h..a~.ging fr~o~ MYlauladry area. tsut
~ foldpanties, anddehl wlthvanous women s "
:issues as best he can. " . ¯
Like Fehx Unger from the play/movie/ ¯
" TV siio v;Gay Felix t3 c3oL "
does so on occasion. He makes the most
seemingly plain dinners gourmet feasts.
And he’s even started us on an exercise
program. Gay Felix plays Mr. Motivator
.to Lesbian Oscar’ s couch potato. No grass
grows under a queen’s feet, I’ve come to
realize.
Because most Gay men believe Lesbians
have no decorating taste 01mph!), the
very few things I have in our living room
I’ve had to fight for. My room has been a
work in progress for almost three months
now. But at least the boxes are off the
middle of the floor. I now have carpet! I
never knew since I moved in that I had
carpet. And you know how important carpet
i~ for Lesbians.t I couldn’t hide my
sexual preference even if I wanted to. The
reason? Gay Felix introduces me t0’each
and every one of his friends: as "my Lesbian
roommate."
Another thing that’s similar to the play/
movie/TV show is that we do things together.
Like going to Gay clubs in Dallas
(would we go anywhere else at night?).
True, Gay Felix is 24 years old as opposed
tomy45 years of age, and I’msure it looks
like I’m takingmy son to Gay bars. People
must wonder just what kind of mother I
am! I’ve seen more dnmken people in the
past few months than I did when I was in
my twenties and drank myself. I’ve also
met more people in the Gay comlnunity of
Dallas than I ever have before. Too bad
they’re all drunk at the time. I have to
reintroduce myselfeach time. It’ s funny to
see Gay Felix at the bars. ¥ou hear various
things as he walks by, like, "Oh, is he
hot!"; "Girl, look at that!"; and ’Td take
him home!" He’s one of the cutest men
I’ve met, yet he doesn’t think so.
The inevitable question about how the
roommate handles the boyfriend situation
comes up here as well. I’m introduced as
the Lesbian Roommate (I almost think
that’ s my name now), and we start talking.
Imagine, a twenty-something man talking
to me instead of jumping into bed right
away. I don’t know if I’d do the same
thing. But I think Gay Felix wants my
views on the guys he brings home - a
woman’ s perspective,ifyou will. Hell, we
all know how easy ! am. If the guy’ s nice
to me, I tell Gay Felix to keep him!
And Lesbian Oscar, Mespite her best
intentions, is slowly .becoming domesticated.
You heard me, grrls! Some things
that I would never have bothered about
beforejump out atmenow. Duston theTV
screen comes to mind. I wipe the kitchen
counter every time I’mfinished with something
in there. I now have places to put my
things, and most of the time I actually
manage t.o putmy things backin the proper
place!
If you’re wondering if a relationship
like this can work, I’m telling you it can.
We don’t fight, and when I do get bitchy
(who, me?), Gay Fclix knows exactly what
to say to snapme back and makeme lau~gh.
Wouldthis work wlthjU~t
tole$,anc.¢, !evel, for a ragLng Lesbian
higii .~ ~ s!~yScraper. No~:~i~-iy:~y~r~"
you, f~.d are like thaL Tiffs is or~e m~ I:
want~0 live witli
Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights
presents
Divers"ity
ration 2 1
Saturday, June 2, 2001
TOHR Follies 2001
"From Here to Eternity"
Avondale Studio & Theatre (the old Delaware Playhouse)
1511 So. Delaware Ave., 8pm
Reception immediately following.
Tickets: $15.00, At the Door: $20.00
The PriMe Store @ Tulsa GLBT
Community Center; 2114 S Memorial
or by calling ~918.743.4297 or toll
free (outside Tulsa) at 866.335.9074
Sunday, June 3, 2001
Tulsa Interfaith Service
Sponsored by TU BLGTAlliance, Sharp Chapel~ TU, 3pm
Monday, June 4, 2001
Council Oak Men’s Chorale Concert
Presented by Tulsa City/County Library
"Diversity in Song"
Aaronson Auditorium, Central Libmrym 3rd & Denver, 7pm
Monday, June4, 2001
Family Law Panel
Presented by Tulsa City/County Library
Professor Linda Lacey, TU Law School
and a panel of family law experts.
Helmedch Library, 91st and Yale, 7pm
Tuesday, June 5, 2001
Art Exhibit: "Embracing Art"
All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria Avenue, 6-9pm
Thursday, June 7, 2001
GLBT Film Festival
Sponsored by Tulsa City/County Library
Aaronson Auditorium, Central Library, 3rd and Denver, 7pm
Friday, June 8, 2001
TOHR Diversity Gala
Benefiting TOHR and Diversity Celebration 2001
"Death Be Not Proud"
Speakers and Parade Grand Marshalls:
Ms. Gabi Clayton, Olympia, WA, Ms. Dorothy Hajdys
Ms. Nancy Rodrigues, Houston, TX, Ms. Carolyn Wagner,
Little Rock, AR
"Community. Hero" Awards presentation honoring those .in
the local GLBT community.
Tulsa Country Club, 701 N. Yukon Dr., 7pm, reception&
silent auction, 8pm dinner, $100/ea. $1,000 table of eight.
Sponsorships available. Reserved seating available by calling
918.743.4297 or 866.335.9074
Saturday, June 9, 2001
The Pride Parade
Cherry Street (15th Street) to Boston Avenue to
18th Street to Veterans Park
Starts at 3pm, Float/marchers begin assembling at lpm.
No entries after 2:45pm
Featuring:Entries from across Oklahoma and
the Midwest Region
Community Heroes
Oklahoma’s largest Pride Flag
Diversity Festival
Sponsored by: Bud Light & Eastern Oklahoma Beverages
Veterans’~ark, 1875 So. Boulder Ave., 3pm
Featuring~Entertai:nment, Speakers, and more.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
newspaper
periodical
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
[2001] Tulsa Family News, April 2001; Volume 8, Issue 4
Subject
The topic of the resource
Politics, education, and social conversation toward Tulsa’s Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual communities.
Description
An account of the resource
Tulsa Family News was a monthly newspaper; No. 1 issued December 1993-January 1994. The final issue available was published in September 0f 2001 (Volume 8, Issue 9).
The newspaper brings up important, evolving topics of marriage, Pride, TOHR, HIV/AIDs, events, advice, and politics all at the local and national level.
This document is available in searchable PDF attached. It is also available to be seen at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center with permission.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Tulsa Family News
Source
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https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/24
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Tom Neal
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
April 2001
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
James Christjohn
Karin Gregory
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Schepers
Hughston Walkinshaw
Rights
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Tom Neal
Tulsa Family News
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Tulsa Family News, March 2001; Volume 8, Issue 4Image
Format
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Image
PDF
Online text
Language
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English
Type
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newspaper
periodical
Coverage
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Tulsa(Oklahoma)---newspaper
Tulsa---Oklahoma
Oklahoma---Tulsa
United States Oklahoma Tulsa
United States of America (50 states)
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
https://history.okeq.org/items/show/611
2001
advocacy
AIDS
AIDS drugs
arts and entertainment
Boy Scouts
businesses
churches
College Hill Presbyterian Church
discrimination
Elton John
Eminem
gay bashing
Gay/Straight Alliance
George W. Bush
Glaxo SmithKline
hate crimes
HIV
HIV testing
Karen Gregory
Lamont Lindstrom
LGBT police
Merck and Co.
military inclusion
Murder
Openarms Youth Project
Partner Benefits
performing arts
Pfizer
Presbyterian Church
Ragin Lesbian
Red Cross
Red Rock Tulsa
restaurants
Soulforce
STDs
the closet
tolerance curriculum
Tom Neal
TU Bisexual/Lesbian/Gay/Transgendered Alliance
Tulsa Family News
Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights
United Way
-
https://history.okeq.org/files/original/415e8b55759eca83dc83e2ea8f685843.jpg
94d8f329c885af31c0dfff66fa95dc42
https://history.okeq.org/files/original/71ead5639d2fb655741a95be7c930d07.pdf
be16ca1224a3677c465dddb080fd7d50
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
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[Sub-Series] Newsletters & Publications > Tom Neal Newsletters > Tulsa Family News
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
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Tulsa .Red Cross
Pledges to Diversity
TULSA (TFN)- In a recent interview with chief executive
officer Roger Dahl, Polly Bowen, chief administrati,~
e officer, Melissa Ramirez, public relations officer,
and new diversity co-ordinator Dannette McIntosh, the
Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross (non-blood
services) discussed their new "diversity" policy.
The policy, which applies to paid staff and volunteers,
recognizes explicitly "sexual orientation" as well
as statuses which traditionally have legal recognition.
The written policy states the intent for the "American
Red Cross to be an inclusive community, free from
discrimination and prejudice." The statement includes
a signature line which volunteers or staff must sign.
According to Dahl and McIntosh, the change is in
keeping with traditional Red Cross goals~vhich strove
to provide services to all based only on need. But in a
recent organizational review, see Cross, p. 10
Transgendered Cop to
Speak at TOHR Meeting
TULSA (TFN) - On March 13, Tulsa Oklahomans for
Human Rights (TOHR) will its monthly membership
meeting. In addition tO a social period beginning at 6:30
with soft drinks, and organizational business at 7:30, the
meeting will feature a speaker whois opeul.y transgendered
and who is an Oklahoma City police officer. The
speaker is knowledgable in self-defense techniques.
Other business will include budget and other announcements
about this summer’s Diversity Fest and Parade.
Later in the month,TOHR will host the second of the
Gill Foundation fundraising seminars. Some 21 groups
have joined TOHR in this training, most of whom are
not Lesbian or Gay groups. They include Tulsa Opera,
Tulsa Philharmonic, NARAL, the Tulsa Boys Home,
Neighbors on the Line, the League ofWomenVoters, as
well as Council Oak Men’s Chorale, HOPE, Tulsa
CARES, and PFLAG.
On March 24, at 7pro, TOHR wil! host a pot-luck
dinner at the Center. Also, TOHR and Red Rock Behavioral
Health Services are implementing two new
programs. The first is a Coming Out group. This program
is designed to assist persons who are in the initial
stages of dealing with their sexuality. The program is
open to women and men. Meetings will take place at the
Community Center each Tuesday night at 7pm.
see TOHR, p. 11
MJ DIRECTORY P. 2 ~ EDITORIAL P. 3
US & WORLD NEWS P. 4
~ HEALTH NEWS P. 6
Z ENTERTAINMENT + MORE P. 8
GAY STUDIES/RAGING LESBIAN P. 10/11
Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsans,
Jenks Senior S.tarts
Gay/Straight Alliance
JENKS, AMERICA (TFN) - When right wing Utah US Senator
Orrin Hatch created an equal access bill to allow student religious
groups to use public school facilities, he probably never dreamed
he was also making it possible for Gay and Gay-friendly high
school students to start Gay/Straight Alliances - even in conservative
Oklahoma.
But in Jenks, one ofTulsa’ s suburbs (which like Broken Arrow
grew from a small farm town in the 60’s and 70’ s as Tulsa whites
fled integration in Tulsa Public Schools), an 18 year old senior
did his homework, knew the law, bucked the system, got some
help and got a Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) started.
Kevin Barker said he once didn’t think he’d be the one to start
a GSA. He is friends with Will Allen and Kent Doss, other young
Gay activists and knew Allen had helped start a GSA at Tulsa’s
Washington High. Doss encouraged Barker to take the initiative
but Barker characterized himself as one who once considered the
DC based Human Rights Campaign as "too radical." But as he
went through his "coming out" process, opening up to his friends
and school community - and generally being accepted, he reconsidered.
And that’s when he started researching equal access
laws, and looking at other resources.
By the middle of last fall, he was ready and went to Jenks High
School administrators and, not surprisingly, started to get therunaround.
Perhaps school officials thought they could stall or bluff
him enough that he’d give up. But Barker called for help and
contacted the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network’s newest
chapter in Oklahoma City.
OKC GLSEN co-chair Rhouda Rudd received an e-mail from
Barker and forwarded his letter to other members of the chapter.
Chapter members Rob Abiera and Joe Quigley suggested that
Barker contact Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights (TOHR).
Qnigley, oneofthefoundingmembers ofOklahomaCityGLSEN
and a teacher of several years’ experience, also sent a list of
contacts, see Jenks, p. 2
In Or Out: Effects of the Closet
TULSA ~TFN) - What are the psychological effects of being in
or out of the closet for GLBT’s will be the subject of the next
Sou!force In Oklahoma at a Tulsa meeting on Monday, March
19th. Dr. Shirley Hunter, fromOklahoma City, who is a Licensed
Professional Coun.selor and a Licensed Marital and Family
Therapist, will be the guest speaker.
According to Soulforce In Oklahoma, religious groups often
covertly or overtly encourage Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender
persons to remain silent within churches about their sexuality or
risk the possibility of rejection. Many faith groups advocate a
"don’t ask -.don~t tell" policy for their congregants and ministers.
As a consequence, GLBT folks struggle with the decision
whether or not to come out. Dr. Hunter will speak on the subject
of coming out and lead a discussion for audience participation.
The meeting will be from 6-8pm at the Tulsa Gay/Lesbian/
Bisexual/Transgender Services Center. The center is located at
2114 S. Memorial, Tulsa. (918-743-4297).
Shirley Hunter started her private practice in psychotherapy in
Oklahoma,City in 1978. The focus of her practice has been for
Gays, Lesbians and their families. Dr. Hunter was instrumental
in establishing the first Gay help line in Oklahoma City in the
early 80’s. She was also a participant in the first homosexual
hearings of the United Methodist Church, and served on the task
force for homosexuality at Church of the Servant, one of the
state’s largest Methodist churches. Dr. Hunter has spoken to
groups throughout the stateinduding university groups, community
groups, and professional groups concerning Gay, Lesbian
andHIVissues. Dr. Hunter and herpartner, Jan Tipton, have been
together for almost 23 years, and they reside in OKC.
In Tulsa, the group meets on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each
month and is a grassroots movement ofGLBT and allied people,
from diverse rdigious traditions who are dedicated to bringing
about justice for the GLBT community. For more information
visit the Soulforce National website at "www.soulforce.org" or
contact local members: Karen at "karen@cwis.net", 918-452-
2761, Sue at "knalig@worldnet.att.net", 587-3248, or Femando
at "Pandafe477@cs.com", 295-0030.
Our Families + Friends
Presbyterians Hold
Gay Spirituality Event
TULSA (TFN) - Tulsa’s College Hill Presbyterian
Church, 10ng knownas theprogressive church among
local congregations is sponsoring a weekend retreat
for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender persons.
The event called, "Re-Connecting Body and Spirit"
will be on March 16-18 at the historic Presbyterian
camp Dwight Mission near Muskogee.
It’s billed as "A Weekend Retreat about Spirituality,
Sexuality and Building Relationships to Last A
Lifetime..." and features as facilitator, the Reverend
Laurene M. Lafontaine. Lafontaine is an out Lesbian
and an alumnae of Princeton Theological Seminary,
and serves as "pulpit supply" (floating minister) for
Denver area churches. Lafontaine also teaches and
coaches at Saint Mary’s Academy in Englewood,
Colorado.
"Re-Connecting Body and Spirit" seeks to help
individuals marginalized by repressive church policies
around matters of sexuality. The retreat hopes to
help individuals to re-connect spirituality with identity
to help build an inclusive faith community. Organizers
say that the retreat’will offer opportunities for
worship, discussion, recreation, bonding, and alliance
building. The goal is to build a church for
everyone.
The event will start after 6pm on Friday evening as
participants arrive. That evening will be a get acquainted
time with no formal programs except for a
Vespers service at 10pm. Saturday will combine
fellowship at meals with workshops from "Religion
and Spirituality: Our Images of God," to "Discovering
and Making the Connections between Sexuality
and Spirituality." Sunday momingworship follows
breakfast, see Retreat, p. 11
¯
Presbyterians Vote On
Anti-Gay Amendment
¯ US/TULSA (AP/TFN) -Around the United States,
¯ regional governing bodies for the Presbyterian Church,
¯ U.S.A. are voting on a measure called "Amendment
O."The amendment is another product of the30-year
¯ struggle over homosexuality, that has gripped the 2.6
¯ million-member Presbyterianchurchand othermain- ¯
line Protestant denominations. The proposed amend-
" ment, passed by the national governing body of the
¯ denominationin2000,wouldruleoutinvoking"God’s ¯
blessing.., on any relationship that is inconsistent
¯ with" the view that people should live "in fidelity
¯ within the covenant of marriage between a man and
¯ a woman or in chasti,ty in singleness."
~ The proposed amerldment would insert an instruc-
~ tion in the church’s governing Book of Order that
¯ Presbyterian churches and clergymust not approve or ¯
invoke God’s blessing on any relationship but those.
¯ For some Presbyterians, that raised the specter of
¯ babies-denied baptism if born out of wedlock, or
refusing marriage to couples who had lived together
~ for years.
¯ At press time, theproposedban on same-sex unions
was failing nationally, 39 to 67, according to an
unofficial count on Presbyweb, one of several independent
church groups posting running vote totals on
¯ the Interact. However, all sides expected the margin
to tighten by the May 25 deadline.
South Louisiana Presbyterians voted to reject
Amendment O. The vote marked the first time that a
majority of the leaders for the more than 13,000
¯ Presbyterians in the southern part of Louisiana have
granted a victory to Gay Presbyterians. It remained
unclear, however, if the vote meant they approve of
¯ Gay marriage.
Some commissioners of the Presbytery of South
Louisiana, see Vote, p. 2
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Bamboo Lounge, 7204 E. Pine
*CW’s, 1737 S. Memorial
*Play-Mor, 424 S. Memorial
Pol6 Grill, 2038 Utica Square
832-1269 "-
610-5323 :
838-9792 ."
744-4280 ¯
*Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main 585-3405 "
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st 745-9998 "
*Schatzi’s, 2619 S. Memorial 280-1316 :
*The Star, 1565 Sheridan 834-4234 ¯
*TNT’s, 2114 S. Memorial 660-0856 "
*Tool Box II, 1338 E. 3rd 584-1308 "
*Vortex, 2182 S. Sheridan 835-2376 :
*The Yellow Brick Road Pub, 2630 E. 15th 749-1563 ¯
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals "
Assoc. in Med. & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard 743-1000 :
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71 "
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5231 E. 41 .
Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 E. 15
*Borders Books & Music, 2740 E. 21 "
*Borders Books & Music, 8015 S. Yale
¯
Brookside Jewelry, 4649 S. Peoria ",
*CD Warehouse, 3807c S. Peoria
*Cheap Thrills, 2640 E. 1 lth "
Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis ."
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker
Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468 "
25O-5034
665-4580
712-1122
712-9955
494-2665
743-5272
746-0313
295-5868
581-0902, 743-4117
622-0700
749-3620
744-5556
838-8503
369-8555
584-0337, 712-9379
592-0460
744-9595
610-0880
628-3709
808-8026
742-1460
459-9349
744-7440
745-1111
341-6866
712-2750
582-3018
747-0236
582-8460
599-8070
747-5466
585-1234
584-3112
663-5934
664-2951
838-7626
743-4297
747-5932
834-0617
834-7921, 748-0224
260-7829
481-0558
835-5563
743-1733
665-2222
592-0767
www.gaytulsa.org - website for Tulsa Gays &Lesbians
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & Universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, POB 4337, 74101 579-9593
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sheridan
Encompass Travel, 13161H N. Memorial
Ross Edward Salon
Events Unlimited, 507 S. Mmn
Floral Design Studio, 3404 S. P~,o.ria
Four Star Import Automotive, 9906 E. 55th P1.
Cathy Furlong, Ph.D., 1980 Utica Sq. Med. Ctr.
Gay & Lesbian Affordable Daycare
*Gloria Jean’s Gourmet Coffee, 1758 E. 21st
Learme M. Gross, Insurance & financial planning
Mark T. Hamby, Attorney
*Sandra J. Hill, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly
*International Tours
Jacox Animal Clinic, 2732 E. 15th
*Jared’s Antiques, 1602 E. 15th
David Kauskey, Country Club Barbering
The Keepers, Housekeeping & Gardening
*Ken’s Flowers, 1635 E. 15
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #210
*Living ArtSpace, 308 South Kenosha
*Midtown Theater, 319 E. 3rd
Mingo Valley Flowers, 9720c E. 31
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place
Puppy Pause II, 1060 S. Mingo
*The Pride Store
Rainbowz on the River B+B, POB 696, 74101
Richard’s Carpet Cleaning
Teri Schutt, Ellen & Co.
Paul Tay, Car Salesman
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis
Venus Salon, 1247 S. Harvard
Fred Welch, LCSW, Counseling
*Wherehouse Music, 5150 S. Sheridan
- *Whittier News Stand, 1 N Lewis
743-2363
587-7314
583-7815
583-9780
585-1201
& Florence
587-1314
747-6300
749-0595
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712-1511
,M1 Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria
Black & White, Inc. POB 14001, Tulsa 74159
Bless The Lord at All Times Christian Center, 2207 E. 6
B/L/G/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa United Min. Ctr.
Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S. Boston
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th PI.
Church of the Restoration UU; 1314N.Greenwood
*Community of Hope Church, 2545 S. Yale
*Community Unitarian-Universalist Congregation
Council Oak Men’s Chorale
*Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware
918.583.1248, fax: 583.4615
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PubLisher + Editor: Tom Neal
Writers + contributors: James Christjohn, Kati~egory, Barry
Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche, Lamont Lindstrom,-Esther
Rothblum, Mary Schepers, Hughston Walkinshaw~ -.
Member of The Associated Press --~_~ _
Issued around the 1 st of each month, the entire conte~s of this
publication are protected by US copyright 2001 by Tulsa
Family News and may not be reproduced either in whole or in
part without written permission from the publisher. Publication
of a name or photo does not indicate a person’s sexual
orientation. Correspondence is assumed to be for publication
unless otherwise noted, must be signed & becomes the sole
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copies of each edition at distribution poi~.~:-~_-
Additional copies are available by calling 58~3~.
*Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E.-31~-~., 742-2457 ¯
Dignity/Integrity of Tulsa - Lesbian & Gay Catl:~oliEs & ¯
Episcopalians, POB 701475, 74170-1475 -- 355:T140 ,
*Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777
*Free SpiritWomen’s Center, call for location &info: 587-4669
Friend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152 747-6827 "
Friends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438 "
*Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., 3507 E. Admiral 834-4194
¯ HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378
¯
*HouseoftheHoly SpiritMinstrie~, 1517 S. Memorial 224-4754
¯ *MCC United, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715
¯ NAMES Project, 3507 E. Adunr~tal P1. 748-3111
¯
NOW, Nat’l Org. for Women, POB 14068, 74159 365-5658
¯ OK Spokes Club (bicycling), POB 9165, 74157
¯ *OSU-Tulsa
¯ PFLAG, POB 52800, 74152 749-4901
¯
*Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria 587-7674
¯ Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118.74152
R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195
¯ *Red Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325
¯
St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 4045 N. Cindnnati 425-7882
¯ St Dunstan’s E iscopal, 5635 E 71st 492-7140
*St. Jerome’s Parish Church, 205 W. King 582-3088
¯ Soulforce-OK, Rt.4,#3534,Stigler74462 587-3248,452-2761
¯ *Tulsa Area United Way, 1430 S. Boulder 583-7171
¯ *TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225
¯ Tulsa County Health Department, 4616E. 15 595-4105
¯ Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays only
¯
Tulsa Okla. for Human Rights, Gay Comm. Center 743-4297
¯ TUL-PAC, PositiveAdvocacyCoalition, POB2687,Tulsa 74101
¯ T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform]Leather Seekers Assoc. 298-0827
¯
*Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule
¯ *Tulsa Community College Campuses
¯ *Tul sa Gay Commumty Center, 21 st &Memorial 743-4297
¯ Unity Churchof Christianity, 3355 S. Jamestown 749-8833
¯
¯ BARTLESVILLE
Bartlesville Public Library,600 S. Johnstone 918-337-5353
¯¯ TAHLEQUAH
Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
¯
Tahlequah Unitarian-Universalist Church 918-456-7900
’ k Green Country AIDS Coalition, POB 1570 918-453-9360
EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
Autumn Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23 501-253-7734
Jim & Brent’s Bistro, 173 S. Main 501-253-7457
¯ DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St. 501-253-6807
¯ Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St. 501-253-5445
: MCC of the Living Spring 501-253-9337
¯ Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, POB 429 501-253-2776
¯ Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery 501-253-5332
Positive Idea Marketing Plans " 501-624-6646
White Light, 1 Center St. 501-253-4074
¯ JOPLIN, MISSOURI
¯ Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U134 41%623-4696
¯¯ aregional grouping of71 local Presbyterian
churches, said they were voting against a
¯ national proposal to ban same-sex unions ¯
because it seemed incidentally to ban much
¯
else, such as baptizing children of single
¯ mothers. Commissioners defeated the proposal
77-63, sending their vote to headquar-
¯
ters of the Presbyterian Church in Louis-
¯ ville, Ky., where the votes of the nation’s
¯ other 172 presbyteries are being tallied.
: The Presbytery of Greater Atlanta which
~- represents 110 churches voteddownAmend-
" merit O, while its counterpart in northeast
¯ Georgia voted the other way. The 256-225
Atlanta vote agmnst the amendment came
~ by paper ballot after an hour’s discussion.
: The Northeast Georgia Presbytery voted in
¯ favor of the amendment 65-61. "We had a
~ very spiritual, pastorally sensitive and open
¯ debateeven thoughour votewas very close,"
said the Rev. Keyon Meeks Jr., executive of
the presbytery.
Currently, according to a ruling last year
by the denomination’s highest court, ministers
in the denominationmay perform samesex
blessing services as long as they are not
c.o.nsidered the same as marriage ceremorues.
-
The Presbytery of Eastern Oklahoma is
scheduled to vote on Amendment O, along
with a number of other proposed amendments
on Tuesday, March 6 at John Knox
Presbyterian Church.
¯ TOHR’s president Kerry Lewis (who is
an attorney) and the Oklahoma chapter of
¯ the American Civil Liberties Union pro-
" vided him with legal advice on how to deal
¯ withresistance on the part of the principal at
¯ Jenks High School.
: Barker’s experience with his principal’s
¯ stalling might now seem funny. He was
¯ asked to give them more time, told that they
¯ had to talk with the school attorney whojust
: happened not to be available, etc. but who
¯ suddenly became much more accessible af-
¯ ter Barker called local mainstream media: ¯ Apparently shortly afterreceiving calls from
: TV and Tulsa World reporters, inducting
¯ Ch. 8’s Glenda Silvey, Barker was called ¯
into the principal’s office where he received
", something that resembled an apology.
¯ However, since receiving approval for the
¯ group, the GSA has continued to struggle to
¯ receive equal access to school resources
," which other groups take for granted. This
: harassmentranges from the sudden enforce-
¯ mentonrules abouthanding out flyers (rules
¯
that had never been enforced recently) to
¯ having their group announcements in the
school bulletin printed in miniscule type.
¯ Despite the struggle, Jenks GSA had a ¯
successful first meeting with 40 people at-
" tending, about 30 of whom were not Gay.
¯ And the success in Jenks appears to have
¯ inspired the formation of groups at Tulsa
¯ Rogers, Union High and in Broken Arrow.
¯ As Barker notes, if it can happen at Jenks,
¯ then it can happen anywhere, and he stated
¯ in an e-mail to his allies, "the law, and God
" was on our side for this one, and we did it!.
¯ .do not be discouraged, the world will
iswhereyoucanffmdTl~N.NotallareGay.ownedba,,a~.~o.,.,IH~my~"~’~ ¯ change, even if it is one person at a timeF’ ,....
by Elizabeth Birch, executive director
WASHINGTON (Feb.2 !) - As we begin a new political reality with Georg~W. Bush as
our nation’s 43rd president and Republicans in charge of Congress and the White House
for the first time in four decades, supporters ofGay equality have expressed apprehension
about what this political moment portends for Gay issues.
While the question remains largely unanswered, we can gain some comfort in noting
that we are also living in a reality of growing public distaste for anti-Gay behavior,
whether by self-righteous radio hosts or misguided office seekers. In the marketplace of
ideas, anti-Gay positions are finding fewer and fewer takers - a point not lost on our new
president.
"... we can gain some comfoit
in noting that we are
also living in a reality of
growing public distaste for
anti-Gay behavlor, whether
by self-rlghteous radio host,-
or misguided office seekers.
In the marketplace of ideas,
anti-Gay positions are
finding fewer and fewer
takers - a point not lost on
our new president.. ¯."
1992, by the Gallup organization whether Gays should have equaljob opportunities, 71%
Of those polled said "yes." By 1999, 83% said "yes." When asked by Gallup whether
homosexuality should be an acceptable lifestyle, in 1992, 38% said"yes." By 1999, 52%
had said"yes." In 1995, apoll conducted by Lake Snell Perry showed Independents, akey
Bush constituency, when asked whether they thought Gay rights were equal rights or
special rights, 41% said "equal." By 1998, that number jumped to 55%.
This data underscores an increasingly supportive electorate that will provide a firm
foundation on which we can build relationships with thenew administration. The lessons
we have learned since 1994 when Republicans took over the Senate and the House of
Representatives, is that public opinion has provided us with vital leverage. Working with
allies inside and outside of Congress we have been able to stop every anti-Gay legislative
attack, and there were many, except one, the Defense of Marriage Act. During this period,
the Employment Non Discrimination Act came within one of vote of passing the Senate
and though it has yet to become law, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed the Senate
by a wide margin and the House passed a non-binding resolution supporting the measure.
Our progress does not rest with any one individtml, political party or component of
government. It comes from making our case to the American people, who at the end of
day, will be the final arbiters of judgment regarding our nation’s leaders.
When the new President Bush nominated former Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft to be
attorney general the conventional wisdom among most Gay advocates was that the
President would have had a tough time picking someone anti-Gay. The fact that the
attorney general can have a direct, dramatic impact on the lives of Gay people only
exacerbated the apprehension surrounding the nomination. What transpired during the
confirmation process was unexpected. Sen. Ashcroft felt the political need to state
unequivocally under oath thathewouldnot discriminateonthebasis of sexual orientation,
apositionhe never took (orhad to take) until coming before the full body ofpublic opinion
represented by the entire Senate. Of course, we will judge him by his actions, not his
words.
After eight years of the Clinton Administration, our community, its orgamzations and
leaders are looking at what lies ahead in this new, more ambiguous environment. Not all
will come to the same conclusions and not all will be driven by the same priorities, but
most are motivated by the goal of equality for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgendered
Americans. At the Human Rights Campaign, we campaigned vigorously for A1
Goreforpresident.Wethoughtherepresented the besthopefor ourcommumty and would
offer the best environment to move our issues forward.
That did not come to pass. The campaign is over. It is time to govern. Thenew president
has completed his transition from campaign to governing. So too does HRC move from
campaigning to making sure the new administration governs fairly and inclusively. We
will accomplish this by using political acumen, relationships with Congress, the moral
imperative and the growing support of public opinion.
The Washington, D.C. based Human Rights Campaign is the largest US civil rights
organization focused On Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered issues. HRC engages
in education and lobbying at thefederal level. Call HRC-Tulsa at 582-4673.
President Bush has largely tried to
sidestep Gay issues throughout his public
career. When he has been pinned
down on issues, he mosdy tries to balance
his positions by trying not to appear
intolerant, yet not alienating his
socially conservativebase. Hehas commendably
stated he will not discriminate
based on sexual orientation. However,
his statements have consistently
been tempered with implications that
homosexuality is a private matter underscoring
the inequity contrasted by
heterosexuality being an obvious public
matter. Despite his strategy ofavoidance,
President Bush has taken a few
positions as governor and during, his
campaign that are not Gay-supportave,
most notably his support in the spring of
1999 for a law that would ban Gay
people from adopting children.
The public has come along way over
the course of the last eight years toward
support of Gay issues. When asked in
by Christian Grantham
The first time I heard songs from the Marshal Mather’s LP by tapper Eminem was on
MTV. The music didn’t seem all that different from everything else the network played,
: and I didn’t pay too much attention. It wasn’t undl the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD) publicly critiqued the album and led protests at the MTV Music
~ Awards against the artist that I gave it another listen.
¯ The questionable content that concernedGLAAD was lyrical prose depicting violence
" against Gays and women. The lyrics were a perfect vehicle for the organization to
] demonstrate how homophobia has permeated our culture. Like a predictable,virus, the
controversy acted as a host and propdled the artist’s content into the spotlight whe4e art’ s
¯ success i s often measured.
¯ The lyrical content is disturbing. But "disturbing" can describe pretty much any
¯ provocative art. What’s great about the album is F,minem’s presentation: it’s angry, it’s
raw and it’s real. It’s so real, in fact, that Eminem took criticism from Gay and Lesbian
leaders and publications for somehow inspiring society’s homophobia.
Supporters like Madonna, Stevie Wonder and Elton John came to his defense reminding
us that blaming, the artist for society’s ills cuts both ways. Who knows how many
unwanted pregnancies in the 80s Madonna is responsible for, right? It wasn’t until Elton
John agreed to perform with the controversial tapper at the Grammy’s that the shit hit the
"fans," so to speak.
"... The lyrical content is
disturbing. But "disturbing" can
describe pretty much any
provocative art. ~/hat’s great about
the album is Emlnem’s presentation:
it’s angry~ it’s raw and it’s real ..."
Caught off guard, GLAAD quickly
urged Elton John to live up to the standards
for which he was presented
GLAAD’s Vito Russo Award the previous
year for outstanding work with the
Gay and Lesbian commumty. Activist
Robin Tyler said in an open letter to
Elton John that he was "spitting on the
grave ofMatthew Shepard." Gay.corn’s
Michael Signorile wrote that it was "arrogant
of Elton John to use his power in
a way that undercuts an entire movement" unless he got a permission slip from the
executive directors of the Gay and Lesbian movement. GLAAD’s Executive Director,
Joan Gerry, implored Elton John to "not perform with Eminem at the Grammy Awards."
Dr. Dre’s protOg6 learned from the best and rode it all the way to the bank.
Gay and Lesbian attacks on tapper Eminem scapegoated the artist and a marginalized
medium for society’s homophobia. The tactic was long popular with religious political
extremists to blame Gays and Lesbians for everything from child molestation to broad
declines of morality. Gay and Lesbian activists argued Eminem was scapegoating Gays
and women inhis prose. Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!
If anything, our movement s duet w~ Eminem exposes our own occasional reliance
on questionable tactics. It also highlights whata willing danceparmerwemake for people,
such as Eminem, by rushing headlong ires giving them the attention they so desire.
What’s worsemour apparent role as "art critic" is the pressure of political expectations
placed on artists we ceremoniously award. Elton Johnis an entertainer who owes creative
control to no one but himself. If he wishes to play the"Uncle Tom," as letters to the editor
describe him, let’s pick up Elton’s depiction and talk about the Uncle Toms in our
commtmi.ty. Or is this a sore spot for folks? If the duet is about homophobia in your face,
let’s address what we’re doing about it and not "who should and shouldn’t artistically
represent it and why."
Elton John isn’t the only artist to experience this from our community. In a discussion
I had on GayBC with Queer As Folk’s Executive Producer, Ron Cowen, he balked at
activist demands that QAF’s story line represent diversity, as though it’s his job to be
social engineer. If art reflects a less than politically correct reality, we all have short
comings to address.
Charles L. Mackay, LL.D, once wrote in Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the
Madness of Crowds that people "think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds,
while they only recover their senses slowly; and one by one." Our movement’s reaction
to Eminem and Elton John show Gays and Lesbians aren’t immune to being apt hosts.
Many of those who attack F.minem hide behind claims that his rap is not art and is a true
confession. The last I recall we left deciding what is and isn’t art to Congressman Jesse
Helms and NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Madness makes strange bedfellows of foes. I
wonder what our friends must be thinking?
Madonna, no stranger to the controversy herself, said in the L~A. Times that Eminem is
simply’~reflecdng what s going onin society right now and That is what art ~s supposed
to do." Stevie Wonder also pointed out that "art is a reflection of our society, and people
don’t like to confront the realities in society." As long as Gay and Lesbian leaders dodge
the"realitiesmsoc|ety ln favor of lynching homophobla smessenger, allwe refunding
is an endless game of"whack the mole." I’d settle, however, for old fashion activism over
playing art critic any day. In the least case, it would be great to get a heads up on when
it will be Howard Stem, David Geffen or Ru Paul’s turn.
William S. Burroughs, a founder of the Beat Generation, himself Gay and brought to
court over the questionable content of his novels, once said "The next revolution will be
iwgnOrin~ others out of existence." I have to wonder someumes if the free market of ideas
ould l~ave left Eminem at the bottom had we not lifted it up as a pet example rather than
focusing on society’s ills his art reflects. Enough about Eminem.
Christian Grantham has a talk show on GayBC Radio Network. www.gaybc.com
School Board to Consider
Advocate for Gay Kids
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Appointment of a full-time
advocate for Gay.and Lesbian students is desperatdy
needed in Madison to combat harassment, ignorance
and indifference such students face, supporters of the
proposal say. "The level of despair, the level of crisis,
is often quite severe," said Michael Apple, an education
professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madi-
S°~o specificjob description exists yet, but a preliminary
proposal Calls for the advocate to work with
district departments to make them more inclusive and
help Gay and Lesbian students with their studies and
probiems. The position could be filledby the end of the
year pending board approval.
Dr. Paul Grossberg of University Health Services
said a presidential task force found about one of every
three youth suicides involv,e~, teen-agers struggling
with tt]eir sexual orientation. It is unconscionable for
usas acommtmity tobesllentaboutthislssue, hesmd.
The Madison district has similar full-time teachers
that work with Southeast Asian, Hispanic and American
Indian students. Only eight other districts in the
country areknown to have full-time advocates for Gay
students, according to the n T h e
proposal has drawn several opposing letters to area .
newspapers. .
Gay+Military Stepfamilies "
Face Challenges
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Beyond the basic complexities
confronting most stepfamilies, those in the mil!-
tary and those headed by same-sex couples face additional
daunting challenges, experts told a U.S. conference
at the end of February.
For military stepfamilies, temporary overseas deployment
of a spouse may leave a.stepparent alone
with children who have yet to accept a new authority
figure. Same-sex couples may have to cope withprejudices,
and their children may struggle in explaiuing the
family structure to others. The issues were raised at the
National Conference of Stepfamilies, a first-of-itskind
symposium bringing together experts from a
variety offields to consider ways ofimproving support
for stepfamilies.
Francesca Adler-Baeder, a parent education specialist
affiliated withComell University, discuss.edher
work with the U.S. Defense Department, trying to
identify the problems posed by stepfamilies in the
military. About 55% of all service members are marfled,
and at least one-fifth of them are estimated to be "
in stepfamilies, she said. ¯
Anne Bernstein, a family therapist and professor at ~
the University of California-Berkeley, discussed the
distinctive challengesfacing same-sex couplesincases ¯
where one ofthem has custody of one °rm°rechildren
at the time the adults become partners. "Even more
than other stepfnmilies, these fnmilies are at variance
with the models in our dominant culture," Bemstein
said. "These people can fed invisible or rejected as a
family."
She said members of such families may have difficulty
finding the right terms foreach other; a child
,,n~,~ht fumble for a replywhen asked by a teach,e,r,~
~-ho is this person who picks you up from school?
..Bemstein said most of the same=sex Couples she
works with are Lesbians, but she has detected particular
problems faced by some Gay men thrust.into
stepfather roles. "For Gay men, being a parent is often
not what one expected to include in one’s-life story,
she said. "Being a stepparent is a very different
lifestyle."
Bernstein said her home town of Berkeley, California,
is rdatively tolerant, but noted that some same-sex
couples with childrenin other areas fear stigmatization
- or possibly even losing custody of the children - if
their sexual identity, becomes public. "These issues are
not easy, especially when youhave children," she said.
The final full session of the conference ended with a
~leaby organizers for more energetic lobbying in state
legislatures on behalf of stepfamilies. "State laws give
almost no lega~ recogniuon to the residential stepparent,’.’
said Margorie Engel, president of the Stepfamily
Association of America. "Thelegal system focuses too
exclusively on bloodlines."
Tolerance Curriculum
Criticized in Santa Fe
SANTA FE (AP) - A minister and a parent say the
tolerance curriculum approved by the Santa Fe school
board for middle and high school students needs to be
redone.. The school board last week approved the
curriculum, which recognizes homophobia as s~xual
violence. The Project Glyph Anti-Homophobia, Prejudice-
Reduction Curriculum is optional for teachers to
use, and parents will be notified before the lessons in
case they want to excuse their children.
Michdle Parker, parent of an elementary school
child, said she stopped reading the curricuium after the
glossary, which includes definitions for transsexual,
transvestite and transgender. Bisexuality and homosexuality
are listed as normal behavior -definitions the
:urriculum attributes to the American Psychiatric ,A.~s-
~ociation. Parker said the definition of homosexumxty
~ontradicts the teachings of theRoman Catholic Church.
"We believe it is not a normal state of being, she sa~ .
Pa~ker saidhomosexuals should be treated with respect,
but that the school district should throw out the,
project and start over.
The Rev. Canon Dale Coleman of the Church of the
Holy Faith Episcopal, who has two children in the
t-~ublic schools, also said the curricu" lumne.e...ds resvaiisdi,n,Ag. "I wouldbeall for atolerance curnculum, he ¯
Christian cannot support prejudice or violence against
kids." However, he said Project Glyph takes "axi extreme
position" in labeling as normal various kinds of
sexual lifestyles. Curriculum advocates say the lessons
are necessary because teen-agers are confronted with
derogatory slang about homosexuals and song lyrics
about beating up homosexuals and that some students
are ridiculed in school.
The project was created by the Santa Fe Rape Crisis
CentJer. Some.. ministers spoke,,out against the curricu-,,
lum, feanng xt would promote ahomosexual agenda.
But the Santa Fe Ministerial Alliance said lastApril it
stood behind the tolerance-based project. The curriculum
covers sexual orientation and gender identity;
homophobia and how it affects everyone; and how to
be an ally to people of all orientations and help stop
violence.
The four school board members at the meeting
supported the curriculum. Supenntendent Vero_ni.’ca .C.
Garcia also spoke favorably of the program, calling ~ts
subject a "human rights issue." Mayor Larry Delgado
has endorsed the program, too.
Project Glyph, part of the Santa-Fe Rape Crisis
Center, first approached the board in Novemberi999
with its effort to make Santa Fe safe and inclusive for
all youth, especially Lesbian, Gay, bisexual and
transgender children.
Some Santa Fe ministers then spoke out against the
curriculum, fearing it would promote the homosexual
lobby’s agenda. But the Santa Fe Ministerial ,Alliance
said in a letter last April iLstood behind the tolerancebased
project. The curriculum covers sexual orientation
and gender identity; homophobia and how it
affects everyone; and how to be an ally to people of all
orientations and help slop violence.
Project Glyph staff plan to make presentations to
students next week. The curriculum will be modified
for middle school students. In a class of30, on average,
there are three to eight students who identify or might
someday identify themselves as Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual,
the curriculum states.
Find out for yourself how good the Lord iS! - Ps. 34:8
Come share
goodness of the
Lord with our
community
~Sunday Morning
11:00 AM
Children’s Worshi p
During Service
MCC United
Rev. Cathy Elliott, Pastor
1623 N. Maplewood (918)838-1715 rncctulsa@aol,con
Community
Unitarian Universalist
Congregation
at Community ofHope
2$4~ South Yale, Sundays at llam, 749-0~9~
A Welcoming Congregation
OUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Sun. Worship, 10:45 am, Sunday School, 9:30 am
Wed. Bible Study, 7 pm; Sunday Eve. Service, 6pm
1517 S. Memorial, 628-0802, Info: 224-4754
The Open Arms Project
Young Adult Support Group
Outreach Program Thurs. Nights
Meet Others in a Safe Enviroment
Call for meeting times and place:
918-584-2325
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Mingo Valley Flowers
9413 E. 31st St., Tulsa 74145
918-663-5934, fax: 663-5834, 800-4AA-5934
Family Owned & Opbrated
Trinna L. ,W. Burrows, LSWs ACSW
Child, Family, Individual & Couple Psychotherapy
(918) 743-9559
2121 South Columbia, Suite 420
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114-3518
The Pride Store
21st Street & Memorial
Tulsa Gay Community Services Center
743-GAYS (743-4297)
6-9 pm, Sunday - Friday
12-9 pm, Saturday, all sales benefit the Center
TOM NEAL
BUILDING & GARDEN
DESIGN
583-1248
Free
Red Rock Tulsa
Confidential HIV Testing
Walk-in Clinics
Tues. & Thurs., 5:8 pm
at the Center, 1307 East 38th
Daytime appointments available.
Call for more information:
918-584-2325
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American Red Cross
American Red Cross
Tulsa Area Chapter
10151 East Eleventh
Tulsa 74128
Dannette McIntosh
Diversity-Co-ordinator
838-1100
Saint Aidan
4045 N. Cincinnati, 425-7882
Saint John
4200 S. Atlanta Place, 742-7381
OPENARMS
OPEN MINDS
OPENI-tFAI~S
Saint Dunstan
5635 East 71st, 492-7140
Trinity
501 S. Cincinnati, 582-4128
The Episcopal Church Welcomes You
School board member Donita Sena said she was
alarmed after reading the results of the district’s recent
Quality of Education Survey. Only 47% of Santa Fe
high school students believed students at their schools
were treated equally regardless of sexual orientation,
while 71% of high school staff believed students were
treated equally. "The kids are saying something obviously
different," Sena said. "If this curriculum is going
to help teachers, we need to do it."
Scottsdale.Considers
Partners Health Benefits
SCOTI’SDALE, Ariz. (AP) - The Scottsdale City
Council is considering extending health care benefits
to the domestic partners of city employees, including
same-sex partners. The city’s proposed health care
plan’was devised in part to bolster Scottsdale’s efforts
inrecruiting andretaining workers in a competitivejob
market.
The number ofjob applications for openpositions is
down, as is the overall quality of candidates, said Neal
Shearer, the city’s human resources administrator.
"We want to eliminate whatever barriers we can that
impede our ability to attract and retain the talent we
need to get thejob done," Shearer said. City employees
have also begun requesting the benefits, and officials
hope to extend the policy to avoid any perception of
discrimination, he said. Eligibility requirements still
are being determined.
Gay civil-rights activists see Scottsdale’s benefits
proposal as part of a trend, said Steve Brandwein, a
board member forthe Arizona Human Rights Fund, a
Gay civil-rights advocacy group. "City councils and
city human resources departments are learning just
like corporations are that in order to remain competitive
this is very sensible business," Brandwein said. In
the state, Phoenix, Tempe, and Tucson also offer
benefits to domestic partners.
But an attorney with a history of challenging domestic
partner policies nationally said the benefits would
weaken morality. "One of the strongest reasons we
oppose any attempts to broaden public support for
alternative lifestyles such as the (domestic partner)
ordinances or city actions do, is that they really do
weaken the value of marriage," said Alan Sears, president
and general counsel of the Alliance Defense
Fund.
Suspects in Gay’s Murder
To Be Clinically Evaluated
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (AP) - The trials of two teenagers
charged in the murder of a Gay Black man from
Marion County could be delayed by requests for psychiatric
reviews. Special Prosecutors Scott Smith of
Wheeling and Stephen Keuney of Charleston have
asked Circuit Judge David Janes to have both teenagers
reviewed by a psychiatrist.
David Allen Parker, 18, is tentatively set to stand
,trial in Beckley on March.26, while co-defendant Jared
Matthew Wilson is scheduled to appear in a Wheeling
courtroom on May 29.
The teen-agers are charged with first-degree murder
and could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of
beating 26-year-old Arthur "J.R." Warren to death in
Grant Town in July. Their trials are expected to last
about a week.
The teens have been interviewed by a psychologist,
but neither has been examined by a psychiatrist, the
prosecutors said in a filing with the court. Forensic
psychologist Dr. William Fremouw has found both
defendants mentally competentto stand trial andcriminally
responsible at the time of their alleged attack on
Warren, according to court documents. Still, Parker’s
lawyers have indicated they may pursue a diminished
capacity defense.
The beating of Warren began early July 4 when
Parker became angry with the victim for telling others
about a sexual relationship the two had. After drinking
beer and snorting a crushed tranquilizer, Parker allegedly
starting hitting Warren with his fists and stomping
on him with steel-toed boots.
In his statement, Wilson told investigators he participated
briefly in the beating for fear Parker’s rage
would turn on him. The then-17-year-olds are also
accused of taking Warren’s body to a rural road and
driving over him four times with a Camaro in a failed
effort to stage a hit-and-run.
College Claims Adequate
Response to Hate Crimes
LYNDON, Vt. (AP) - Lyndon State College officials
have denied accusations that the college is ignoring
hate crimes on campus. Officials responded to claims
made last week by a sophomore student who said
college administrators retaliated against him because
of his Web site, http://lyndonsucks.homestead.com.
The site by Jacob Fortes, of Lowell, Mass., who is
not Gay,accuses officials ofignoring student concerns
about hate crimes, and mentions alleged hate crimes
that target Gays at LSC.
College President Carol Moore said Fortes made
"outrageous claims." "I think we’ve done a good job
and have responded quickly to some of the concerns
about the homosexual climate on campus." Moore
said. "We feel we have enough data to show that we
have tried to set up programs to protect our Gay and
Lesbian students." Moore said the school has pursued
every incident of harassment that has been reported.
As well, the college has increased efforts to raise
awareness on the campus about Gay and Lesbian
concerns, she said, including holding open forums
attended for students and faculty members. Of the
nearly 1,100 full-time students at LSC, about 25 arein
the Gay and Lesbian Alliance, though not all are Gay
or Lesbian, she said.
Moore confirmed reports that a Gay student left the
campus last year because he was uncomfortable. "The
studentfelt he was injeopardy physically and we could
not guarantee round-the-clock protection for him," she
said. The situation reflects society and LSC ]s not
umque in dealing with these issues, Moore said. "You
can educate but sometimes it just doesn’t take," she
said.
Ex-United Way Staffer
Attacks BSA Funding
NEPTUNE, N:J. (AP) - A former finance director for
the United Way of Monmouth County has filed a
complaint to try to stop the nonprofitfromfunding Boy
Scout troops. Maureen Glover’s complaint with the
state Division of Civil Rights charges that she was
subject to a hostile work environment because the
agency funded the Scouts. She worked for the charitable
umbrella organization from last June until she
resigned in January.
Glover, 45, told the Asbury Park Press of Neptune
that on her first day of work, she was happy to sign an
ethics code that prohibited discrimination on the basis
of race, creed, age, sex or sexual orientation. Days
later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts
".of America could bar Gays from leadership positions
m a case that originated in Monmouth County.
Glover accused her employer of violating its own
ethics code. She said it was particularly distressing to
find herself as finance director writing checks to the
same Boy Scout council that ejected James Dale as
scouunaster after learning he was Gay, an action that
led to the Supreme Court case.
Jim Borque, executive director of the Monmouth
County United Way, said he disagreed with Glover’s
charges, but declined to elaborate, citing the pending
litigation.
California Men’s
Syphilis Rate Rising
ATLANTA (AP) - An outbreak of syphilis
in Southern California last year has
provided alarming new evidence that Gay
and Bisexual me~ are lowering their guard
against AIDS, the government said.
More than half of the syphilis cases in a
four-county area during the first half of
2000 were in men who reported having
had at least one male sex partner- up from
26% a year earlier.
Health officials said that the numbers
are a signal that Gay and Bisexual men,
encouraged by news of powerfully effective
drug cocktails andlonger lifespans for
AIDS patients, are wonying less about
HIV. Both HIV and syphilis are sexually
transmitted; condoms can protect against
their spread.
HIV "is no longer perceived to bethe
threat that it once was," said Dr. Ronald
Valdiserri, deputy director of the National
Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention,
which is part of the Centers for .Disease
Control and Prevention. ’q’hese are very
serious findings."
The Southern California cases and similar
outbreaks in other major cities came
after the national syphilis rate dropped in
1999 to its lowest level on record. Just
6,657 cases were reported in 1999, the last
year for which national figures are available,
or about one case per 40,000 people.
Syphilis outbreaks inmajor cities"show
that the disease can make a comeback,"
said Ken August, spokesman for~CaliforniaDepartmentofHealth
Services. ’tit’ s
important for health-care providers to ask
patients about theirbehavior and to deliver
a strong prevention message."
In four California counties - Los Angeles,
San Diego, Orange and Riverside- 66
of 130 syphilis cases from January to July
2000 were in Gay or Bisexual men, compared
with 26 of 100 cases in the same
period in 1999.
Of the 66 cases in 2000, 33 reported they
had had anonymous sex, and 17 said they
had met sex partners in bathhouses. Only
oneinfivereported using acondomduring
his most recent sexual encounter, and two
in five reportedusing illegal drugs. ’¢rhese
men were engaging m high-risk sexual
behavior," Valdiserri said. "When we see
reports of increasing risk behaviors, that’s
when we take action. We don’t wait till we
see the spike nationally" in HIV.
Thirty-four of the 66 men reported they
were HIV-positive, and nine said they did
not know their HIV status. "You’ve got
people who are doing well on the (HIV)
drugs andbelieve then that they don’thave
to worry about infection," said John
Schtinlaoff, chief of public health operations
for Los Angeles County. "Some
people argue that there is burnout. They
get weary of being protective." The CDC
recommended a search for new, innovative
ways to get the safe-sex message to
Gay and Bisexual men in large cities.
Syphilis infections in 1999 remained
concentrated in the South, with roughly
one case per 22,000 people. Three-quarters
of syphilis victims nationwide were
black. About 300 syphilis cases were reported
in 2000 in California.
Agency to Offer
Free AIDS Drugs
BOMBAY, India (AP) - An international
aid agency said Friday it will distribute an
anti-AIDS drug purchsed from an h~dian
company free of charge in 10 countries.
Doctors Without Borders - or Medecins
sans Frontieres - will buy the anti-AIDS
cocktail from the Indian company Cipla
Ltd.
"In general, wherethe Cipladrug will be
used, it will be supplied free of cost. Wherever
it is purchased by governments, it
would be sold at reduced prices," Daniel
Berman of the agency’s Access to Essential
Medicines campaign told The Associated
Press. Berman said the agency will
begin distributing the drugs "over the next
couple of months."
On Feb. 7, Cipla offered to sell a threedrug
anti-retroviral cocktail to Doctors
Without Borders t’or $350 per person, per
year, if the aid agency agreed to distribute
it for free and took care of the legalities of
importing it. Cipla also offered to sell the
triple-combination therapy drugs to governments
for $600 per patient instead of
the $10,000 to $15,000 charged in the
United States and Europe.
The Bombay-based company says it
could manufacture the drugs cheaply becauseproduction
costs arelow in Indiaand
it makes the raw materials.
Berman along with Madrid-based pharmacist
Carmen Perez met three top Cipla
officials inBombay and said the aid agency
would integrate some of the Cipla drugs
into antiretroviral pilot programs in-10
countries. "We will be using these drugs in
thesepilotprograms."Hedeclined toname
the 10 countries, but said the program had
already begun in Thailand and Cameroon. -
Berman said drug authorities from the
United States, Australia, South Africa and
Germany had visited the Cipla plant and
certified standards.
A joint statement by Doctors Without
Bordersand Cipla said: "Governments of
developing countries canimmediately take
advantage of the offer... This offer is
available without restrictions in time, geography
or quantity."
The Cipla offer raised concerns Lhat
patent laws may be breached in some
countries. In South Africa, 42 pharmaceutical
comparfies have filed a lawsuit to
prevent the government from distributing
genericAIDS drugs becuase it~nay violate
World Trade Organization rules.
Under theWTOrules, governments can
issue compulsory licenses that allow genetic
drugs to be manufactured if they
declare a national health emergency.
The AIDS cocktail on offer consists of
two 40 milligram tablets of stavudine, two
150 milligram tablets of lamivudine and
two 200 milligram tablets of nevirapine.
: GlaxoSmithKline of Britain developed
: lamivudine, also known as Heptovir, ~ihd
: Boehringer Ingelheim of Germany holds
¯ the rights to nevirapine under the name
¯" Viramune. Bristol-Myers Squibb holds the
~ international patent on siavudine.
The companies have been negotiating
deals with individual governments to lower
prices. Boehringerrecentlylowered prices
by 80%. GlaxoSmithKline announced that
¯ it wouldlowerprices by 90%for nonprofit
Im
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Power
Connect.
Public Service Company of Oklahoma
Customer_Service Is Now Available 24
Hours .A Day, Seven Days A Week.
These days, traditional 8-5 business hours
aren’t always convenient. So PSO has made it
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Our Customer Service Center operates 24/7
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Customer Services: 1-888-216-3523
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SPIRITUAL
No More Tithes, Offerings, or Special
Gifts Until Churches End Their False
Teachings Against God’s Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender Children
Make Every Sunday Your
"Faithful Dissenter Sunday"
VIOLENCE Withholding support (for even one Sunday) will
empower you and help bring truth to your
church or denomination.
Consider your situation:
(1) If your local congregation is not. fully welcoming~ fill in the blanks below and
drop it into the offering plate. Send your donation instead to the church or
organization of your choice.
(2) If your congregation is fully welcoming, but your denomination is not, withhold
the percentage (10% to 15%) that goes to your denomination.
(3) Ifyou have left a church that is not fully welcoming, consider a one-time return
visit to drop a card in the offering plate with a note explaining why.
Write a note on the back or add a letter to explain your actions-lovingly.
Do lustice. See your spirit renewed and your church transformed.
Let us include you on our Honor Roll ofFaithful Dissenters. ,
Send your name or initials with a brief account to: HonorRoll@sou]force.org
For centuries, anti-homosexual religious teachings have led to
suicide, wasted lives,-discrimination and violence.
I am withholding my gifts until God’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender children are fully welcomed by this church and/or denomination.
Today, I amwithholding my tithe/offering/special gift (or portion
thereof) from and contributing it
to because it welcomes and provides
serAces to ~God’s chiMren equally.-~-~--~~
as much my moral obligation not to cooperate with evil as it is to
cooperate with good."- Ga~9m
This bulletin insert is provided by Soulforce as part of its
"Stop Spiritual Violence" campaign.
your speci~needs! 800-559-1558 ~n~-~.NewNest.com
agencies - effectively matching the Cipla
offer.
Cipla Chairman Yusuf Hamied said he
welcomed moves by multinational companies
to slash prices. "Since our initial
outburst, things are moving in a positive
direction. That is very satisfying,"Hamied
said in an interview over the phone.
Merck Begins
Vaccine Trials
NEW YORK (AP) - Pharmaceutical
manufacturer Merck & Co. has begun a
small-scale human trial of a new experimental
HIV vaccine, TheWall StreetJournal
reported at the end of February.
The new vaccine has been able to prevent
laboratory monkeys exposed to an
extremely vindent strain of the disease
from contracting it, sources close to the
trials told the Journal. This has AIDS scientists
watching the results of the trials
very dosdy. The company would not discuss
the details of the laboratory trials, but
did say it began testing the vaccine in
healthy, uninfected volunteers last week.
The drug is not the firstpossible vaccine
to go into human trials. At least a d~iten
.other companies are currently experimenting
with a possible vaccine, but scientists
familiar with the Merck trials say that their
drug is among the most promismg.
Merck official said they were reluctant
to release any details regarding the trials
before making a.formal presentation at a
scientific forum in April, lest publicity
raise false hopes.
Priest Challenges
Drug Companies
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Expanding an
international campaign to make AIDS
drugs affordable in the poorest nations, an
American priest who works with HIVpositive
orphans in Kenya said he planned
to import cheap, generic medicines from
India,
Importing the drugs, which are the
equivalents of patented medicines, is_illegal
in Kenya. However, the bigger fight
for the Rev. Angelo D’Agostino could
comefrom pharmaceutical companies who
own patents on the drugs.
What D’Agostino fears is a lawsuit in
Kenyalike the one42pharmaceutical companies
filed in South Africa to prevent that
government from distributing generic
AIDS drugs. "I am sick and tired of doing
funerals," said D’Agostino, who rims-the
Nyumbani Orphanage, home to 70 HIVpositive
orphans. He also treats 150 to 200
children living nearby.
The orphanage recently received private
donations to buy drugs, but brandname
medications cost $500 a month per
child, D’Agostino said. A generic equivalent
offered by the Bombay, India-based
Cipla Ltd. would cost the orphanage $20 a
month per child.
There are legal loopholes D’Agostino
could use to bring the drugs into Kenya,
but they only provide for a small amount.
And besides, his plan to go to India, buy
the drugs and bring them back for his
orphans seems feasible. Kenya’s minister
for public health, Dr. Sam Ongeri, said he
doesn’t expect the government to stop
D’Agostino. Also, Ongeri noted, the government
is expected to pass a bill in parliament
next month that would allow aid
agencies to legally import generic drugs.
The obstacle, Ongeri said, will likely be
the drug companies. "The pharmaceutical
industry should rise to the occasion and
drop their prices in good time before we
getto a level of (political) crisis," he said.
One in eight Kenyans between the ages
of 15and 49 are HIV positive, Ongeri said.
Providing them with the patented drugs
wouldcostbetween $141 millionand $167
million - more than the country’s entire
annual health budget of $115 million.
Cipla offered to sdl Doctors Without
Borders the anti-AIDS cocktailifthe group
agreed to distribute itforfreeandtook care
of the legalities of importing it. The group
has agreed to help D’Agostino obtain the
drugs.
GlaxoSmithYdine declined to comment
on D’Agostino’s plan. However, in announcing
the company’s earnings,
GlaxoSmithKline chief executive Jean-
Pierre Gamier said patents are not the
obstacle to supplying developing countries
with medicines - poverty and weak
health care systems are.
Requests for commentfrom Boehringer
and Bristol-Myers Squibb were not answered.
However, a Boehringer spokesman
asked about Cipla earlier this month
said "intellectual property rights should be
protected."
GlaxoSmithKline
Has 13% Profit Rise
LONDON (AP) - Strong sales for its respiratory,
antiviral andcentral-nervous-system
drugs helped boost GlaxoSmithKline
PLCprofits by 13%last year, thecompany
announced recently. Pretax profit for the
year ending Dec. 31 was 5.33 billion
pounds ($7.73 billion).
Theresults "demonstrate that in the new
company, we have underlying strength
which wasn’t slowed by the long preg~
nancy pause of the merger," said CEO
Jean-Pierre Gamier.
Antivirals - including the company’s
HIV treatments - rose 15%. Sales of the
firm’s HIV drugs grew 14%.
Pfizer Distributing
Free AIDS Drug
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -
TheU.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Corp.
said Wednesday it will soon begin distributing
the drug Diflucan free to HIV and
AIDS patients at government hospitals
and clinics. Distribution of the drug will
begin "within the next few weeks," ajoint
statement from the health department and
Pfizer said.
The departr~ent removed a roadblock to
the distribution by approving Diflucan for
the treatment of esophageal candidiasis, a
fungal infection of the throat that occurs in
¯ up_to~4-0% of AIDS patients. The drug,
genetically known as Fluconazole, is already
used in South Africa as treatment for
cryptococcal meningitis, an infection of
the brain that occurs in 10% of AIDS
patients.
by Jim Christjohn, entertainment editor
Happy Spring Equinox! -Also known as
Easter, takenfrom thenameof aPhoenician
goddess offertility,Oestre or Ostara, from
whence we get the imagery of bunnies and
eggs. The hare was an animal sacred to
many goddesses, and the egg was symbolic
of the cycles of life, ~e cosmos, as
wellas eternity. Inmany
prechristian cultures,
this was also the time
for the rebirth of the solar
god, of which the
latest was Jesus. This is
the time many scholars
say he was" actually
born. Sothere’ s the little
bit of learning channel
info for the month - let
it never be said that this
column is not educational.
Well, Tannhauser
was certainly an event
not to be missed. Lovely
voices, deeply symbolic
staging and sets, and
some laughable and
fabulous costumes. And
that was just the audience! Actually,
Wagner’s 3+ hour long gnashing of teeth
and clLristian guilffest was agonizing in
terms of plot, but beautiful in terfns of the
caliber of talent and voice.
Oh, and pity the fella that dates someone
who wants to major in costume design, all
you’ll hear about is how people look, what
they wore, and why they shouldn’t wear it.
It was a toss up between who was more
superficial - the characters onstage or the
one critiquing everyone else’s superficialities.
I mean, who the hell cares whether
apatron wore a dress that was too big in the
bosom for the equipment she had to put in
- it? Itmay be it’s a dress a friend loanedher
since she couldn’t afford a dress of her
own and she had to make do! Certainly not
worth a 30 minute diatribe on the evils of
wearing a dress too big for your bust.
Oh, and I love attending cultural events
in Tulsa - where the woman next to me
kept sniffing- wetly andnoisily- throughout
the show. I cut slack for that- and her
hOrrifically noisy nose-blowing-because
if you’re sick, you’re sick. BUT STAY
HOME! However, when she started chewing
gum with her mouth open and smacking
like a cannon, I’d had enough. They
left after the second act, I don’tknow why.
.. Andthen there was the3 year oldbehind
~ us - who was incessantly noisy and irkstme,
simply because she could be. The
child was driving both I and my companion
to distraction Finally, she started smacking
On candy - loudly, noisily, and obnoxiously.
I spoke to theparents, who thenhad
a heated exchange in a foreign language.
They too left after the second act. It is very
interesting that an event can be so easily
eclipsed by the actions of inconsiderate
audience members.
Stomp, on the other hand, was a wonderfully
engaging and humorously magi.’-
cal romp wherein the cast created.musac
from the most unlikely of objects. I will
¯ never look at aplastic bag again as merely
¯ abag. The cast was amazingly diverse, and
¯ immensely handsomeandbeautiful in their
¯¯ ownways. Infact, itwas ashow where one
would expect a bunch of athletic dancers,
¯ and the people in the cast were refresh-
- ingly real - and hll the more beautiful for
¯ it. And it was a rousing evening, marred
only by the occurrence
several times of
people’s cell phones -
not part of the act - and
some who amazingly,
held conversations
while the show was going
on. Lovely invention,
the cell phone. Allows
for intrusive rudeness
at an unprecedented
level on a massive
scale. The inventor,
as well as the users,
should all be burnt at
the stake. But that’s just
my opinion. Apparently
these people have not
the intelligence to figure
out what the OFF
button is for; or don’t
¯ have the basic intelligence to leave the
~ danm thing in the car, if you can’t figure
¯ out how to work it.
¯ Cirque De Soleil (CDC), the utterly
¯ amazing acrobatic troupe, has put some of
its acts together with a story, and created
" "Journey Of Man," an IMAX 3D film
¯ opening in Tulsa March 9. The film fol-
¯ lows the stages of human development
¯ from birth to maturity celebrating the hu- ¯
man spirit. The film was recently honored
¯ by the Giant Screen Theatre Association
¯ as the Best Film of 200; and if you’ve
¯ never.seen Cirque De Soleil, I can’t urge
; you enough to take in this flick. You will
¯ be amazed at what some of the folks can
do. I look forward to seeing this film, as it
¯ promises to be the next best thing to actually
being at a CDC performance.
If you love tap dance and beautiful men,
¯ then Tap Dogs is well worth the price of
: the DVD or Video. About the same vin-
¯ tage as Stomp,it is a festival of percussion
¯ and music featuring tap dance, and would
¯ be well worth seeing just to marvel and ¯
what these dancers can do.
¯ Andin the latest on the wonderful world
¯ of Nicksiana,. Stevie’s album has been
pushed back to early May alas. "Singles
should start appearing on radio in April,
though, and the new album is generating
rave reviews. Lending voices to the album
are Sarah McLachlan, Macy Gray (that
should be interesting), one of the Dixie
Chicks, and Sheryl Crow. I still think she
and Melissa Etheridge should do a duet; I
would be incredibly powerful. Oh well,
next album...
Thefinal concertofthe 2000-2001 Tulsa
Philharmonic Lollipops Scries will bepresented
Sunday, March 18, 2001, at 2pro in
theWalter Arts Center atThe Holland Hall
School. Maestro Edwin Outwater has
planned a concert entitled "Music on the
Move," with music depicting all forms of
movement see Amuse, p. 9
"...Well, Tannhauser was
certainly an event not to be
missed. Lovely voices, deeply
symbolle sta~in~ and sets,
and some laughable and
fabulous costumes. And that
was just the audlenee!
Actually, Wagner’s 3+ hour
lon~ ~nashln~ of teeth and
Christian guiltfest was
a~onlzln~ in terms of plot,
but beautiful in terms
of the eallber of
talent and volee...."
Timothy W. Daniel
Attorney at Law
An Attorney who will fight for justice
& equality for Gays & Lesbians
Domestic Partnership Planning,
Personal Injury, Criminal Law & Bankruptcy
1-800-742-9468 or 918-352-9504
128 East Broadway, Drumright, Oklahoma
Weekend and evening appointmenls are available.
Kelly Kirby, CPA, PC
.Certified Public Accountant
a professional corporation
Lesbians and Gay men face many special
tax situations whether ,single or as couples.
Electronic filing is available for faster refunds.
747 - 5466
4021 South Harvard Avenue, Suite 210, Tulsa 74135
The University of Tulsa
Bisexual/Lesbian/
Gay/Transgendered Alliance
presents their
Annual Film Festival
Evenings on April 6 & 7
Sunday afternoon, April 8
TU Campus, 6th& Delaware
Selected titles:
Westler, Summer in-My Veins,
High Art and more.
Exact times and auditoriums to be announced in next
issueand will be available at the Community Center.
"Plastic Jesus" by Poppy Z. Brite the record charts and the covers of
reviewed by Barry Hensley : teenybopper magazines as the rock group
What would happen if a cutting edge " The Kydds.
author wrote a fictional account of the ¯ WhenHaroldismurderedbyroughtrade,
loving, sexual relationship between Elvis " Seth and Peyton begin their inevitable,
and Colonel Tom Parker? I’ll bet there " loving, sexual relationship. A couple of
would be charges of
blasphemy, calls for
boycotts against the
publisher and death
threats to the author.
Fortunately, author
Poppy Z. Brite has
chosen, notElvis, but
the Beatles to take
down the lavender
road, and their fans
seem to be much
more understanding,
since not a peep of
protest has been heard about this fanciful
romance between the icons we know as
Paul and John.
Ourstory starts, surprise(!), with a shooting
onacoldNew Yorknight. Seth Grealy,
fading rock star, hits the sidewalk in a
spreading pool of blood. A woman in the
horrified crowd recognizes him and takes
the opportunity to scoop up ablood soaked
piece of paper, quickly running away with
the priceless souvenir. The murderer turns
out to be a Christian Fundamentalist who
assumed Seth was spreading AIDS.
Looking back on Seth’s early years in
rural England, we discover him jamming
at a local club with friends, particularly
guitarist Peyton Masters. They are being
closely observed by Gay record manager
Harold Loomis. Well, you guessed it!
UnderHarold’s careful guidance, the boys,
plus two friends, quickly rise to the top of
and transportation. The concert begins at
2pm with pre-performance activities, Including
a musical petting zoo and other
special surprises, beginning at 1:15pro. In
this gravity-defying concert, Maestro
Outwater and the Tulsa Philharmonic will
present music that’ s really "going places,"
including Leroy Anderson’s Horse and
Buggy, Johann Strauss, Pleasure Train
Polka, Eduard Strauss, Skater’s Waltz,
and Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov,s Flight of
the Bumblebee. With the help of a special
conductor’s assistant giving introductions
to each of the orchestra’s instrument families,
this concert combines the best of
entertainment and education.
With combined sales approaching the
300,000 mark, Robin Spielberg is one of
today’s most popular and prolific contemporary
pianist/composers. On March 25,
2001, she will perform what promises to
be amost memorable evening Of her spellbinding
compositions on the Steinway piano
at The Tulsa Performing Arts Center.
The evening will include Ms. Spielberg’s
compelling and oftenhumorous story-telling
and feature new works from her latest
CD, Dreaming of Summer. The concert
will begin at 3pro Ms. Spielberg will
autographCDs and sheet music following
the performance. Theconcert is madepossible
in part by a grant from the Tulsa
"...What would-happen if a
euttlng edge author wrote a
fietlonal aee0unt of the loving,
sexual relationship between
Elvis and_Colonel Tom
Parker? . . . Fortunately,
author...Brlte has chosen,
not Elvis, but the Beatles..."
years later, in 1969,
the Stonewall riots in
New York City inspire
Sethand Pe.yton
to wander rnto
Greenwich Village,
giving interviews revealing
their relationship.
A Newsweek
cover, chronicling
their love for each
other, soon follows,
as does a marriage
ceremony in Holland.
The boys have conveniently forgotten
to tell their bandmates about all of this
and The Kydds are soon history. Fame
proves exhausting, and Seth and Peyton
soon slip into semi,retirement until Seth’s
untimely murder.
HOW different things might have been if
Paul and John had really followed this
path! In the author’s afterword, Brite comments,
"I have always believed the world
would be a better place today if John and
Paul had been lovers. Yes, I know they
weren’t Gay. That has nothing to do with
it. This is fantasy." But what an intriguing
fantasy it is t ffyou enjoy wishful thinking,
check out Plastic Jesus and find out what
might have been.
Check for Plastic Jesus at your local
library, or call 596-7966 to get a copy.
Barry Hensley is a librarian with Tulsa
City-County Library System.
Performing Arts Center Trust Ms.
Spielberg has recorded nine CDs, performed
two sold-outconcerts at Weill Hall
at Carnegie Hall, toured the country an
concert and has made numerous television
appearances, including features/interviews
and performances on "CBS-This Morning"
and "LifeTime Live," and "ABC
News." Spielberg’s music has also been
featured on scores of radio programs, and
her work in music & healing has received
attention in Parenting magazine, The New
York Times, and The Washington Post.
Robin Spielberg-will perform at Tulsa
Performing Arts Center on March25,2001
at 3pro. Tickets can be purchased by calling
918/596-7111. Tickets are $12, and
$10 for seniors & students. More information
on Robin Spielberg and her recordings,
can be found on the world wide web
at www.robinspielberg.com
The2000-2001 Tulsa Philharmonic Pops
Series-continues with guest star Roger
Williams on Friday, March 9, 2001, and
Saturday, M~ch 10, 2001. This consummate
entertainer conducts and performs
on this memorableprogram. Performances
will be presented at 8pm in the Chapman
Music Hall of the Tulsa Performing Arts
Center. Playing the music that has served
as the soundtrack of three generations,
Williams will tickle the ivories with such
favorites as Autumn Leaves, Talk to the
Animals, From a Distance, and a medley
including Feelings and Chariots of Fire.
Gay Studies: Pilgrimage
by Lament Lindstrom
"Nasir," I once asked my Gay Malaysian
friend, "are you ever going on the hadj?"
This is the fifth pillar of Islam - the duty of
all good Muslims to worship
in Mecca at least once
in life. "Maybe," he said,
"when I’m older. But noW"
I’m having too much fun as
a Gay pilgrim in America."
Gay pilgrims came to
mind last month when I
walked down Ocean Drive
in South Beach. There, up
ahead, shining brightly in
the Miami sunshine was
Gianni Versace’s weddingcake
mansion sporting a
modestly phallic observatory
dome. Andthere, at the
footofthosefamously once
bloodstained steps, were the
Gay pilgrims fervently
snapping pictures. Some of
these, no doubt, were fash-
¯ studied- still demand that devotees make
: weekly pilgrimages down to the coastal
¯ village where the Movement is headquar-
¯ tered. There, these pilgrims worship at the
¯¯ Movement’s spiritual center, their physical
presence a marker of
their fidelity.
Thepilgrimage- sacred
traveling - knots together
identity and place. Sacred
travd reminds us of who,
what, and why we are.
Today’s nation-states,
which in part modeled
themselves on medieval
religious institutions, borrowed
rituals of pilgrimage.
The U.S., for example,
is splattered with large
numbers of National
Monuments and National
Historic Sites that we
should visit in order to
learn about ourselves. The
Alamo, Mount Vernon,
Gettysburg, the Arizona Memorial, and
many more. These places are all much like
church. Any rude chatter, hoofing, or
hollering will quickly attract shushing
guardians, of these politically sacred pilgrimage
sites.
Most of these places, of course, commemorate
mainstream, white-bread
America. Still, multicultural politics have
boosted the visibility, nowadays, of minority
histories. African-Americans tour
the birthplace of George Washington
Carver in Diamond, Missouri. Japanese-
Americans pilgrims drive out to Tule Lake
in Modoc County, California, site of a
WW2 internment camp. Jewish-Americans
visit the monument to Revolutionary
War financier Haym Solomon in Queens,
New York. Feminists pay homage at the
Suffragette Memorial inWashington, DC.
But what of Gay and Lesbian pilgrims?
Where might we go?
" ’Naslr,’
I once asked . . . ’are
you ever going
on the bade’. ,.
- the duty of all good
Muslims to
worship in Mecca at
least once in life.
’Maybes’ he said, ’when
I’m older. But now I’m
having too much fun
as a Gay pilgrim
in Amerlea.’ "
ion pilgrims. But others, like me, were
there in reverence of the lingering spectacle
of Versace’s and Cunanan’s deadly
homosexual encounter.
Pilgrims. The word derives from old
Latin roots meaning "across the field"
which came to refer to traveling in fol:,eigu
parts. Organized religions have profited
by regularizing the pilgrimage. Besides
the Islamic ’hadj,’- Roman Catholic Popes
beginning in 1300 have declared Jubilee
years, inostly recently Armo Santo 2000,
during which visitors to Rome may rack
up spintual blessing points:
In pre-industrial and pre-literate social
orders, communication between religious
leaders and followers demanded physical
mobility. There was no TV, no radio, no
newspapers. Instead, one had to travel to
the source to hear and see in person. Leaders
of the John Frum Movement- ahomegrown
South Pacific religion that I once
the Tulsa chapter has identified a number
of areas in which to improve. These range
from adding more Spanish speaking staff
or volunteers to help in disaster relief to a
new program in development to create a
diversity curriculum in area high schools
to address the challenges Lesbian~and Gay
young people face. The group has offered
a tolerance curriculum for some time but
this new program which is being developed
with a local Unitarian church, and
With input from Youth Services of Tulsa
and PFLAG, is explicit in addressing anti-
Gay attitudes, noted Bowen. Dahl added
thatthenew program specifically has board
support.
Dahl and his colleagues expressed frustration
at the negative reputation which
their part oftheRed Cross has for anti-Gay
bias based on the ban on blood donations
by any man who has had sex with another
man since 1980. Many are not awar9 that
the American Red Cross Blood Services
have a separate director and board even
though they share theirname and building.
The policy is not set by the Red Cross but
by theFederal Drug Administration (FDA)
which recently reviewed the ban and reendorsed
it. Gay civil rights activists have
argued that a ban based on group status
rather than on risk factors is biased and
while might have beenappropriate in the
earliest years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
is no longer good science.
However, Dahl acknowledged that the
Red Cross might be more active in challenging
the policy, and noted that individual
chapters may sponsorresolutions at
their national meetings. The Tulsa chapter
has a resolution addressing bias against
the Jewish equivalent of the Red Cross
which has yet to be accorded equal status
as Muslim and other groups. Dalai indicated
that the Tulsa chapter might address
the blood donation restrictions issue in a
similar fashion.
For more information about volunteering
Or American Red Cross diversity efforts,
contact Dannette Mclntosh, Tulsa
Area Chapter diversity coordinator, 918-
831-1215.
Want to save Money and
Help Build a Community Center?
Switch to Rainbow Communications
Long Distance and More, 10% of Revenues Will Benefit
Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights
Capital Campaign and General Fund
For more information,
call 665-3401 or evenings at 447-8602.
T )C Tulsa Oratorio Chorus
COUNCIL o
KAMCHATKA
Sunday, March 11, 7:30pm, $10
Holy Family Cathedral, 122 W. Eight, 748-3888
Drummers of Japan
March 4
7:30 p.m.
Chapman Music Hall
Tulsa Performing Arts Center
3rd & Cincinnati
Tickets
$17.50, $27.50, $35
Call. 596-7111
Outside Tulsa:
1 800 364-7111
www.tulsapac.com
presented by the
Tulsa PAC Trust
"Perfection n music"
Boston Globe
"Total brain massage"
Independent on Sunday
"... waves of percussive
sound that seemed to turn
Carnegie Hall itself into a
resonant cavity ..."
New York Times
IGTA member
Call 341, 6866
lntem ational
Tours or oreWor t o,.
TULSA COUNTY
DEMOCRATIC
PARTY
Country Club Barbering
Custom Stylingfor Men & Women
David Kauskey
3310 E. 51st, 747-0236, T,nes.-Fri.,. 8-5:30, Sat. 8-5pm
Tulsa’s only
professional
body-piercing
. College Hill
Presbyterian Church
In response to God’s Love,
College Hill Presbyterian Church
is a community of God’s people
called to tell others the
Gospel of Jesus Christ
through worship,
service, and evangelism.
To nurture our faith, we gather for
worship, prayer,
stud~ and fellowship.
Trusting in a living, loving God,
we seek to become a compassionate
voice for peace and justice.
Our congregation welcomes all
persons who respohd in trust and
obedience to God’s grace
in Jesus Christ, and desire to become
pai-t of the membership and ministry
of Christ’s church.
Membership is open to all people
regardless of race, ethnic origin,
worldly condition, marital status, or
sexual orientation.
Sunday Worship 1 lam
712 S. Columbia Ave., 592-5800
(One block west of Delaware and the
University of Tulsa Campus)
by Karin Gregory
Super Bowl Sunday is way behind us,
butmy heart feels like the football: kicked,
stomped, beaten, thrown, punted. Oh, and
abandoned. We must never forget abandoned.
So abandoned that I spent
Valentine’ s Day withmyroommate’ s dog.
And I thought the Irish had luck! Oh, right
- I confused that withmy father tellingme
that everything a Gregory touches turns to.
.. to.., well, it certainly ain’t gold. After
44 years of running from love in all shapes
and forms, I smacked dead into it with the
arrival of a woman who, apparently,
thought I was just a novelty.
OK, you’re saying, "But what did the
raging Lesbian expect?" With all my Gay
male friends falling in and out of love as
quickly as they change their clothes, you’d
think I’d have learned, at least by proxy.
But nooooo - I believed that women were
different from men.
So I plunged in with eyes wide shut,
listening to a voice from God telling me
things no MAN had ever said. Or maybe I
just wasn’t interested enough to listen until
now. She said she was a very physical
person, and the woman involved with her
had to love sexas much as she. Saying a
silent, "Thank you, God!", I watched her
beautiful eyes look back at me and all I
could do (since by now my blood had
rushed DOWN from my head) was to
wonder, "Whatdoes she see inme?"Maybe
because I’m a newbie, or maybe because
I’ve been around the Gay community for
so long, I have no problem showing affection.
Holding hands in the open, arms
around each other, kissing on a public
residential street in Dallas felt, for the first
time in my life, natural. When she told me
she wanted me to spend a weekend with
her after we’djust met a few hours before,
did I balk? Hell, no! And that IS a first for
me!
I know it was hormonal in the beginning.
When I tried to be straight for so
many years, I found kissing a man to be
extremely strange. Atfirstteethuponteeth,
inadequacy on my part, as well as detachment,
until it degenerated into making my
grocery list in my head while his tongue
was in my throat. Blech! But this! I just
assumed I never got it- the fireworks, etc.
That first night on the street with her, I felt
the full light show, complete with thunder
andearth-shattering enlightenment I should
have felt about 20 years ago. I must confess
that kiss was so powerful that I gave
$5 to a panhandler on my way home. He
probably sits at that exact corner every
night waiting to catch happy Lesbians on
their way home.
Although I knew it was Lesbian lust, I
trudged blindly ahead, not knowing or
caring what the future held, but damned
determined to enjoy every minute of it.
And enjgy I did in October with this same
woman in South Texas who spoke to me
romantically. I left with a VERY healthy
ego, and got a hint of what it must be like
to be a straight man. I also left with the
promise of another weekend the next
month, this time at my place. She kept up
this farce, even singing to me on my birthday.
Then the phone calls stopped, emails
became fewer and fewer, you know the
drill. At last came the inevitable -the
"Dear Jane" letter. You know that one -
the one that says she hopes wE’ll be friends
for a long time to come. Theone that’s the
very LAST message she sends. I’m sure
you’ve seen wildlife shows with the charging
rhino who suddenly forgets the target
he’s charging. Well, consider this woman
a charging rhino. Or maybe I’m that forgettable.
Or maybe she’s just a bitch.
My astute friend Jim tells me, after I’ve
called, written, and emailed to no avail,
that silence is my .answer. I like that - as
applied toANYONEelse but me! MyGay
male roommate says, "She just wanted to
get you into bed." Men - you can’t live
with ’em... pass the beer nuts!
Now I understand my friends who just
can’t seem to get over that relationship that
everyone around them knew was doomed
frbm the beginning. All my "forget about
him/hers" sound even emptier than they
must have to my friends. You know, it
hurts to remember; but it hurts more to
forget.
Have there been others since my experience?
There’ s the olderwomanwhobought
my dining room table and chairs. She got
into some financial trouble shortly afterward
and I "loaned" her the same amount.
She got more than that, too, one night
shortly afterward. Have I heard from her
since? Oh, why don’t you decide? Doesit
seem that I have a sign across my forehead
saying,"Horny Lesbian- Will Apparendy
Do Anything For Sex. PLEASE Fold,
Spindle, And Mutilate When Finished"?
But even after spending my twentysixth
Valentine’s Day in arow listening to
Janis Ian’s "At Seventeen", I still believe
in the romantic future. And in the luck of
the Irish. And that there really IS a pot of
gold at the end of the rainbow. Maybe this
Gregory will be lucky enough, come St.
Paddy’s Day, to believe that what she
touches can turn to gold. or at least believe
in love again. THAT would be lucky.
Karin Gregory is a Fort Worth-based
writer.
organizers note that the $50 fee will
cover bunk-room style lodging, meals on
Saturday and Sunday breakfast but that
some financial assistance is available for
those for whom the fee is too much. However,
they do emphasize that the deadline
is March 1 lth.
For more information, contact College
Hill Presbyterian Church, 712 S. Columbia,
Tulsa 74104, or call 592-5800.
Men’s Group. This program is d~signed
to assist men to learn ~t~m safe sex practices,
relationships, ~dotl~erissues. Meetings
will take place_~..~a~ Thursday night
at 7pm. :. _ .
FriMore
Lig ht
PR S B YT E R IAN S
RE:CONNECTING
BODY + SPIRIT
March 16-18 at the historic and.
beautifully wooded Dwight Mission.
A Weekend Retreat about
Spirituality, Sexuality and
Building Relationships to Last A Lifetime...
This LGBT specific event seeks to help individuals marginalized by repressive church policies around matters
of sexuality. The event seeks to re-connect spirituality with identity to help build an inclusive faith community.
Friday evening will be a get acquainted time. Saturday will combine fellowship at meals with workshops from
"Religion and Spirituality: Our Images of God," to "Discovering and Making the Connections between Sexuality
and Spirituality." Sunday morning worship follows breakfast. The $50 fee will cover bunk-room style lodging,
meals on Saturday and Sunday breakfast. Financial assistance is available.
The deadline is March 11th.
College Hill Presbyterian Church, 712 S. Columbia, Tulsa 74104, 592-5800
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
newspaper
periodical
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
[2001] Tulsa Family News, March 2001; Volume 8, Issue 3
Subject
The topic of the resource
Politics, education, and social conversation toward Tulsa’s Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual communities.
Description
An account of the resource
Tulsa Family News was a monthly newspaper; No. 1 issued December 1993-January 1994. The final issue available was published in September 0f 2001 (Volume 8, Issue 9).
The newspaper brings up important, evolving topics of marriage, Pride, TOHR, HIV/AIDs, events, advice, and politics all at the local and national level.
This document is available in searchable PDF attached. It is also available to be seen at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center with permission.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Tulsa Family News
Source
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https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/24
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Tom Neal
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
March 2001
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
James Christjohn
Karin Gregory
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
MAry Schepers
Highston Walkinshaw
Rights
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Tom Neal/Tulsa Family News
Relation
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Tulsa Family News, February 2001; Volume 8, Issue 3
Format
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Image
PDF
Online text
Language
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English
Type
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newspaper
periodical
Coverage
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Tulsa(Oklahoma)---newspaper
Tulsa---Oklahoma
Oklahoma---Tulsa
United States Oklahoma Tulsa
United States of America (50 states)
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
https://history.okeq.org/items/show/610
2001
advocacy
AIDS
AIDS drugs
arts and entertainment
Boy Scouts
businesses
churches
College Hill Presbyterian Church
discrimination
Elton John
Eminem
gay bashing
Gay/Straight Alliance
George W. Bush
Glaxo SmithKline
hate crimes
HIV
HIV testing
Karen Gregory
Lamont Lindstrom
LGBT police
Merck and Co.
military inclusion
Murder
Openarms Youth Project
Partner Benefits
performing arts
Pfizer
Presbyterian Church
Raging Lesbian
Red Cross
Red Rock Tulsa
restaurants
Soulforce
STDs
the closet
tolerance curriculum
Tom Neal
TU Bisexual/Lesbian/Gay/Transgendered Alliance
Tulsa Family News
Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights
United Way